scholarly journals Intake, Digestibility In vivo, N Utilization and In sacco Dry Matter Degradability of Grass Silage Harvested at Three Stages of Maturity

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Vranić ◽  
Mladen Knežević ◽  
Goran Perčulija ◽  
Krešimir Bošnjak ◽  
Josip Leto
1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 ◽  
pp. 113-113
Author(s):  
D M Harris ◽  
A Barlet ◽  
A T Chamberlain

The pressure transducer technique has been proposed as a method of evaluating feed degradation characteristics (Theodorou, 1993) and it has been shown to predict the in vivo and in sacco degradability of forages (Blummel and Orskov, 1993). However the original technique requires rumen liquor and hence access to surgically prepared animals. Faecal material is generally easier to obtain and this work assessed it's suitability as an alternative source of microbes.Rumen liquor (R) and faeces (F) were collected simultaneously from a rumenally fistulated lactating dairy cow. R was mixed 1:1 with modified van Soest medium and F 1:2 to obtain similar dry matter contents. Homogenised strained 20 ml aliquats were inoculated into vented 250 ml bottles containing 180 ml of modified van Soest medium and 1.5g DM of a 7:3 mixture of milled air dried grass silage and 180 g CP / kg DM concentrates. The 7:3 ratio of silage and concentrates was chosen to reflect the diet the donor cow was consuming.


1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 ◽  
pp. 113-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Harris ◽  
A Barlet ◽  
A T Chamberlain

The pressure transducer technique has been proposed as a method of evaluating feed degradation characteristics (Theodorou, 1993) and it has been shown to predict the in vivo and in sacco degradability of forages (Blummel and Orskov, 1993). However the original technique requires rumen liquor and hence access to surgically prepared animals. Faecal material is generally easier to obtain and this work assessed it's suitability as an alternative source of microbes.Rumen liquor (R) and faeces (F) were collected simultaneously from a rumenally fistulated lactating dairy cow. R was mixed 1:1 with modified van Soest medium and F 1:2 to obtain similar dry matter contents. Homogenised strained 20 ml aliquats were inoculated into vented 250 ml bottles containing 180 ml of modified van Soest medium and 1.5g DM of a 7:3 mixture of milled air dried grass silage and 180 g CP / kg DM concentrates. The 7:3 ratio of silage and concentrates was chosen to reflect the diet the donor cow was consuming.


1987 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Gill ◽  
D. E. Beever ◽  
P. J. Buttery ◽  
P. England ◽  
M. J. Gibb ◽  
...  

SummaryThe effect of oestradiol-17β on the response to fishmeal supplementation of grass silage was studied in young growing cattle. Voluntary intake and live-weight gain were recorded over 63 days with 36 British Friesian male castrates (initial live weight (LW) 119 kg) offered silage alone (C) or with 50 (FM1), 100 (FM2), or 150 (FM3) g fishmeal/kg silage dry matter. Twelve calves were allocated to each of treatments C and FM3 and six to treatments FM1 and FM2. Half of the calves on each treatment were ear-implanted with oestradiol-17β (Compudose 365) at the start of the experiment. The calves on treatments C and FM3 were slaughtered after 75 days and chemical analysis conducted on half of each carcass. The silage had an organic-matter digestibility in vivo of 0·794 and was well-fermented, with a pH of 3·7. Intake averaged 24·2±0·42 g D.M./kg LW over all the treatments and live-weight gain was 0·77 kg/day on the silage alone. There was a significant (P < 0·05) interaction between fishmeal and oestradiol-17β, such that response to the hormone was observed only in the presence of fishmeal at 100 or 150 g/kg silage D.M. A similar interaction was apparent between fishmeal at 150 g/kg silage D.M. and oestradiol-17β in the final weights of empty body and carcass. This level of fishmeal also increased protein gain from 96 to 147 g/day and this was further increased to 179 g/day in the implanted animals receiving fishmeal. However, the overall effect of oestradiol-17β on protein gain was not significant. Gross efficiency of energy utilization was significantly (P < 0·01) increased by fishmeal supplementation suggesting an improved balance of nutrients compared with the silage alone diet.


1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Aston ◽  
C. Thomas ◽  
S. R. Daley ◽  
J. D. Sutton ◽  
M. S. Dhanoa

AbstractHigh digestibility ryegrass was ensiled using either good methods including formic acid application (HDG) or poor methods without formic acid (HDP). Low digestibility ryegrass (LDG) and lucerne (LUC) were ensiled using similar methods to HDG. Digestible organic matter in the dry matter (DM) in vivo (DOMD) for HDG, HDP, LDG and LUC were 0·756, 0·774, 0·645 and 0·562 respectively. Silages were offered ad libitum to 40 HolsteinFriesian cows in two Latin-square design experiments during weeks 8 to 22 of lactation either alone (experiment 1) or with 3, 6, 9 or 12 kg concentrate DM per day (experiment 2). Relative intakes of silage given alone were respectively 1·00, 0·44, 0·98 and 0·79. Low intake of HDP could not be predicted from silage analysis. In experiment 2, DM intake increased by 0·11 kg and milk yield by 0·24 kg for each 0·010 change in grass silage DOMD. Intake of HDG, LDG and LUC declined linearly with increasing concentrate, on HDP the effect was non-linear and intake increased up to the 6 kg level.In experiment 1, milk and protein yields were greatest on HDG, protein yield was higher on LDG than LUC and fat concentration higher on HDP and LUC. With supplementation milk yield was greatest on HDG up to the 6 kg level, at higher levels differences between silages were not significant. Fat concentration was highest on LDG and protein highest on HDG and lowest on LUC. On all silages giving the highest concentrate level reduced the concentration and yield of fat. Protein concentration increased up to the 9 kg level. Fat plus protein yields reached a maximum on HDG with 6 kg concentrate DM per day and with 9 kg on the remaining silages.


1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sanderson ◽  
C. Thomas ◽  
A. B. McAllan

AbstractSeventy-two, 4-month-old, British Friesian steers were used to investigate the effects of feeding a supplement of fish meal on the voluntary intake and live-weight gain by young growing cattle given a well preserved ryegrass silage. The silage was offered either alone or mixed with 50,100 or 150 g fish meal per kg silage dry matter (DM) and the diets were offered either ad libitum or intakes were restricted to 16, 19 or 22 g dietary DM per kg live weight (LW). Intakes were recorded daily, LW weekly and in vivo apparent digestibility over one 7-day period during the 132-day trial.For animals fed ad libitum, the absolute intake of dietary DM increased linearly with an increase in the level of fish-meal supplementation such that intake when the highest level of fish meal was given was significantly higher (P < 0·01) than when silage was given alone. However, DM intake per unit LW (approx. 24 g DM per kg LW) was not affected significantly (P > 0·05).Inclusion of fish meal in the diet did not affect the apparent digestibility of dietary DM, organic matter, acid-detergent or neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) although there was a trend for slightly higher (P > 0·05) gross energy apparent digestibility when fish meal was given. Increasing the level of feeding reduced NDF digestibility. The coefficients measured at the 22 g and ad libitum levels of intake were lower (P < 0·01 and P < 0·05 respectively) than that measured at the 16 g DM per kg LW level.Animals given silage alone to appetite achieved LW gains of 0·6 kg/day. LW gains increased linearly with increasing level of feeding (P < 0·001) and increasing level offish-meal supplementation (P < 0·001).


Author(s):  
S.M. El Hassan ◽  
C.J. Newbold ◽  
R.J. Wallace

It has been suggested that the mechanism by which yeast cultures (YC), based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, improve ruminant production is by stimulating rumen fibre digestion and microbial protein flow from the rumen. Both of these effects have in turn been related to the increases in bacterial growth in the rumen observed when YC is added to the diet. However, although it is has been shown that the effectiveness of YC in improving productivity is influenced by the composition of the diet fed (Williams and Newbold, 1990), little is known about how the ability of YC to stimulate bacterial numbers in the rumen is affected by diet composition.The effect of diet on the stimulation of bacterial numbers in the rumen by YC was investigated in the rumen simulation technique (Rusitec). Grass silage was prepared from a sward of perennial rye-grass, without the use of a preservative. Fresh grass was collected from the sward prior to ensilage and stored at -20°C. Grass (5.96 g dry matter (DM) /day) and grass silage (6.54 g DM/ day) were compared alone or supplemented with 500 mg / day YC (Yea-sacc, Alltech), in triplicate, in an experiment lasting 21 days.Four rumen cannulated sheep, allowed ad lib access to grass silage, were used to investigate further the effects of YC on bacterial numbers in the rumen in vivo. The effects of YC (4 g/ day) were investigated in a 2 × 2 factorial design with 28 day periods.


1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. PELLETIER ◽  
J.-C. ST-PIERRE ◽  
J. E. COMEAU

Chemical analysis, in vivo digestibility and voluntary intake measurements were used to determine the nutritive value of different crops made as silage for sheep. In the first experiment, grass silages contained less N-NH3 than corn–pea silage. Digestible energy intake of grass silage treated with formic acid was higher than that which was untreated. Digestibility, dry matter intake and the nutritive value index were higher for corn–pea silage than for treated or untreated grass silage. In the second experiment, six different silages were made. Corn was harvested at the milk and dough stages of growth and after a frost and was chopped at either 1.3 cm or 0.6 cm. Silage made with corn harvested after a frost and chopped at 1.3 cm and that made with corn harvested at the milk stage and chopped at 0.6 cm had higher N-NH3 content than the others. Fine chopping decreased digestibility of silages harvested at earlier maturity stages but increased the digestible energy of the corn silage harvested after a frost. Voluntary intake was greater with silages harvested at the later dates than with silage harvested at the milk stage.


Author(s):  
A T Chamberlain ◽  
F Endalew

The metabolisable protein system (AFRC, 1992) requires the measurement of the dynamics of the degradation of protein in the rumen. However many drying techniques used during sample preparation cause protein damage and denaturation which may affect the subsequent assessment. The objective of this work was to compare the dry matter and nitrogen degradation profiles of samples of grass silage dried using a range of techniques.One kilogram samples of first cut grass (Lolium perenne) silage (156 g CP/kg DM) were air dried (AD), freeze dried (FD), dried at 50 (OD50) or 100°C (OD100) in a still air oven or dried in a microwave oven (MD) on the ‘defrost’ setting. In sacco degradability was assessed in fistulated yearling wether sheep, using a 5x5 Latin square and incubation times of 3,6,12,24 and 48 hours. Bags size was nn x nn cm with a sample size of 3 g. Bags were rinsed and frozen upon removal, mechanically washed and dried at 60°C before analysis. Dry matter and nitrogen disappearance data for each sheep was fitted to the model y = a + b(1-e-ct) using non-linear regression.


Author(s):  
D.I. Givens ◽  
Angela R. Moss ◽  
E.R. Deaville

In recent years the quantity of grass silage as big bales has increased substantially, both in the UK and elsewhere. Eyers (1989) reported that about 16% of the grass silage dry matter (DM) conserved in England and Wales was in the form of big bales.Whilst there is now considerable information on the composition, nutritive value and laboratory procedures for predicting the digestibility and energy value of clamp silage, there are few comparable data for big bale silages. The objectives of the present work were to examine the composition, digestibility and energy value of a population of big bale silages and to compare relationships between laboratory measurements and digestibility in vivo with those derived earlier for clamp silages (Givens et al., 1989).


1990 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Crosse ◽  
J. Murphy

ABSTRACTTwo experiments were carried out in the springs of 1986 and 1987 to investigate the effect of energy concentration in complete diets on the performance of heifers and mature cows. In 1986, all animals were on trial for an 8-week indoor period. In 1987, 14 heifers were on trial for 8 weeks, four heifers were on trial for 7 weeks and six heifers were on trial for 4 weeks. Carry-over effects were compared while animals were on pasture. Two diets offered ad libitum were compared. Diet H contained 0·7 concentrates and 0·3 grass silage. Diet L contained 0·5 concentrates and 0·5 grass silage. In 1986, the concentrate portion of diet H had a higher metabolizable energy (ME) content than diet L whereas in 1987 the same concentrate mixture was used in both diets.Increasing the energy concentration of the diet from 10·66 MJ ME per kg dry matter (DM) to 11·21 MJ ME per kg DM resulted in a significant proportional increase of 0·36 in DM intake for heifers and mature cows in 1986. The proportional increase in DM intake in 1987 for heifers was 0·17. DM intake (kg DM per day) for heifers and mature cows in 1986 and for heifers in 1987 for diets H and L was 11·8, 8·7, 15·0, 11·0, 14·9, 12·7 respectively. The energy concentration of the complete diet did have a significant effect on average milk yield during the treatment period in the 1986 trial for mature cows but not for heifers in either year. Milk yields were 19·1, 17·5, 26·3, 240, 19·8, 18·9 kg/day respectively for heifers and mature cows in 1986 and for heifers only in 1987. In vivo digestibility coefficients in 1986 for energy, DM, organic matter, modified acid-detergent fibre and protein for diet H (0·708, 0·702, 0·724, 0·678, 0·671) were significantly higher than those for diet L (0·677, 0·666, 0·694, 0·653, 0·625).The total lactation yield for the heifers and mature cows was not significantly influenced by the energy concentration of the diet given in early lactation.


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