• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1314-1322
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• 2017

Objective: This experiment investigated the effect of dietary net energy (NE) concentrations on growth performance and NE intake of growing gilts. Methods: Five diets were formulated to contain 9.6, 10.1, 10.6, 11.1, and 11.6 MJ NE/kg, respectively. A metabolism trial with 10 growing pigs (average body weight [BW] = $15.9{\pm}0.24kg$) was conducted to determine NE concentrations of 5 diets based on French and Dutch NE systems in a $5{\times}5$ replicated Latin square design. A growth trial also was performed with five dietary treatments and 12 replicates per treatment using 60 growing gilts (average BW = $15.9{\pm}0.55kg$) for 28 days. A regression analysis was performed to predict daily NE intake from the BW of growing gilts. Results: Increasing NE concentrations of diets did not influence average daily gain and average daily feed intake of growing gilts. There was a quadratic relationship (p = 0.01) between dietary NE concentrations and feed efficiency (G:F), although the difference in G:F among treatment means was relatively small. Regression analysis revealed that daily NE intake was linearly associated with the BW of growing gilts. The prediction equations for NE intake with the BW of growing gilts were: NE intake (MJ/d) = $1.442+(0.562{\times}BW,kg)$, $R^2=0.796$ when French NE system was used, whereas NE intake (MJ/d) = $1.533+(0.614{\times}BW,kg)$, $R^2=0.810$ when Dutch NE system was used. Conclusion: Increasing NE concentrations of diets from 9.6 to 11.6 MJ NE/kg have little impacts on growth performance of growing gilts. Daily NE intake can be predicted from the BW between 15 and 40 kg in growing gilts.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1424-1431
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of diets containing different amounts of wheat, as a partial or whole substitute for corn, on digestibility, digestive enzyme activities, serum metabolite contents and ruminal fermentation in beef cattle. Four Limousin${\times}$LuXi crossbred cattle with a body weight ($400{\pm}10kg$), fitted with permanent ruminal, proximal duodenal and terminal ileal cannulas, were used in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design with four treatments: Control (100% corn), 33% wheat (33% substitution for corn), 67% wheat (67% substitution for corn), and 100% wheat (100% substitution for corn) on a dry matter basis. The results showed that replacing corn with increasing amounts of wheat increased the apparent digestibility values of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein (p<0.05). While the apparent digestibility of acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber were lower with increasing amounts of wheat. Digestive enzyme activities of lipase, protease and amylase in the duodenum were higher with increasing wheat amounts (p<0.05), and showed similar results to those for the enzymes in the ileum except for amylase. Increased substitution of wheat for corn increased the serum alanine aminotransferase concentration (p<0.05). Ruminal pH was not different between those given only corn and those given 33% wheat. Increasing the substitution of wheat for corn increased the molar proportion of acetate and tended to increase the acetate-to-propionate ratio. Cattle fed 100% wheat tended to have the lowest ruminal $NH_3-N$ concentration compared with control (p<0.05), whereas no differences were observed among the cattle fed 33% and 67% wheat. These findings indicate that wheat can be effectively used to replace corn in moderate amounts to meet the energy and fiber requirements of beef cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1416-1423
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• 2016

This study was designed to investigate the effect of grape pomace powder (GPP), mangosteen peel powder (MPP) and monensin on feed intake, nutrients digestibility, microorganisms, rumen fermentation characteristic, microbial protein synthesis and nitrogen balance in dairy steers. Four, rumen fistulated dairy steers with initial body weight (BW) of $220{\pm}15kg$ were randomly assigned according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design to receive four treatments. The treatments were as follows: T1 = control, T2 = supplementation with monensin at 33 mg/kg diet, T3 = supplementation with GPP at 2% of dry matter intake, and T4 = supplementation with MPP at 30 g/kg diet. The steers were offered the concentrate diet at 0.2% BW and 3% urea treated rice straw (UTRS) was fed ad libitum. It was found that GPP supplemented group had higher UTRS intake and nutrient digestibility in terms of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber than those in control group (p<0.05). Ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3-N$) and blood urea-nitrogen concentration were higher in monensin, GPP and MPP supplemented groups (p<0.05). Total volatile fatty acids and propionate in the GPP group were higher than those in the control group (p<0.05) while acetate concentration, and acetate to propionate ratio were decreased (p<0.01) when steers were supplemented with GPP, monensin, and MPP, respectively. Moreover, protozoal populations in GPP, MPP, and monensin supplementation were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05), while cellulolytic bacterial population was significantly higher in the control group (p<0.05). Nitrogen retention, microbial crude protein and efficiency of microbial nitrogen synthesis were found significantly higher in steers that received GPP (p<0.05). Based on this study it could be concluded that the GPP has potential as an alternative feed supplement in concentrate diets which can result in improved rumen fermentation efficiency, digestibility and microbial protein synthesis in steers fed on treated rice straw.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1120-1128
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• 2016

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with nitrogen and starch on the nutritional performance of grazing cattle during the rainy season. Five rumen cannulated Nellore steers, averaging 211 kg of body weight (BW), were used. Animals grazed on five signal grass paddocks. Five treatments were evaluated: control (forage only), ruminal supplementation with nitrogen at 1 g of crude protein (CP)/kg BW, ruminal supplementation with starch at 2.5 g/kg BW, supplementation with nitrogen (1 g CP/kg BW) and starch (2.5 g/kg BW), and supplementation with nitrogen (1 g CP/kg BW) and a mixture of corn starch and nitrogenous compounds (2.5 g/kg BW), thereby resulting in an energy part of the supplement with 150 g CP/kg of dry matter (DM). This last treatment was considered an additional treatment. The experiment was carried out according to a $5{\times}5$ Latin square design following a $2{\times}2+1$ factorial arrangement (with or without nitrogen, with or without starch, and the additional treatment). Nitrogen supplementation did not affect (p>0.10) forage intake. Starch supplementation increased (p<0.10) total intake but did not affect (p<0.10) forage intake. There was an interaction between nitrogen and starch (p<0.10) for organic matter digestibility. Organic matter digestibility was increased only by supplying starch and nitrogen together. Nitrogen balance (NB) was increased (p<0.10) by the nitrogen supplementation as well as by starch supplementation. Despite this, even though a significant interaction was not observed (p>0.10), NB obtained with nitrogen plus starch supplementation was greater than NB obtained with either nitrogen or starch exclusive supplementation. Supplementation with starch and nitrogen to beef cattle grazing during the rainy season can possibly improve digestion and nitrogen retention in the animal.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1111-1119
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• 2016

Mao seed is a by-product of the wine and juice industry, which could be used in animal nutrition. The current study was designed to determine the effect of supplementation of mao (Antidesma thwaitesianum Muell. Arg.) seed meal (MOSM) containing condensed tannins (CT) on rumen fermentation, nitrogen (N) utilization and microbial protein synthesis in goats. Four crossbred (Thai Native${\times}$Anglo Nubian) goats with initial body weight (BW) $20{\pm}2kg$ were randomly assigned to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. The four dietary treatments were MOSM supplementation at 0%, 0.8%, 1.6%, and 2.4% of total dry matter (DM) intake, respectively. During the experimental periods, all goats were fed a diet containing roughage to concentrate ratio of 60:40 at 3.0% BW/d and pangola grass hay was used as a roughage source. Results showed that supplementation with MOSM did not affect feed intake, nutrient intakes and apparent nutrient digestibility (p>0.05). In addition, ruminal pH and ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) were not influenced by MOSM supplementation, whilst blood urea nitrogen was decreased quadraticly (p<0.05) in goats supplemented with MOSM at 2.4% of total DM intake. Propionate was increased linearly with MOSM supplementation, whereas acetate and butyrate were remained the same. Moreover, estimated ruminal methane ($CH_4$) was decreased linearly (p<0.05) when goats were fed with MOSM at 1.6% and 2.4% of total DM intake. Numbers of bacteria and protozoa were similar among treatments (p>0.05). There were linear decreases in urinary N (p<0.01) and total N excretion (p<0.01) by MOSM supplementation. Furthermore, N retention was increased linearly (p<0.05) when goats were fed with MOSM supplementation at 1.6% and 2.4% of total DM intake. Microbial protein synthesis were not significantly different among treatments (p>0.05). From the current study, it can be concluded that supplementation of MOSM at 1.6% to 2.4% of total DM intake can be used to modify ruminal fermentation, especially propionate and N utilization in goats, without affecting the nutrient digestibility, microbial populations and microbial protein synthesis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.812-818
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• 2009

This study evaluated the effects of live yeast and yeast cell-wall mannan-oligosaccharide supplementation onperformance and nutrient digestibility during early lactation in cows fed a diet based on a mixture of corn silage and alfalfa hay as forage sources. Eight multiparous Holstein dairy cows (average days in milk, 27${\pm}$6) were used in a replicated 4${\times}$4 Latin square design. Diets contained 45% forage and 55% concentrate on a dry matter (DM) basis and treatments were: i) basal diet without additive (Control), ii) basal diet with 32 g/d of mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), iii) basal diet with $1.2{\times}10^{10}$ colony forming units per day (cfu/d) of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM 1-1077; SC), and iv) basal diet with a mixture of MOS (32 g/d) and SC ($1.2{\times}10^{10}$ cfu/d; MOS+SC). Treatments had no effect (p>0.05) on DM intake and yields of milk, 3.5% fat-(FCM) and energy-corrected milk (ECM), and on milk fat percentage, body condition score and blood metabolites. Compared with the Control, only supplementation of SC resulted in numerically higher yields of FCM (41.9 vs. 40.1 kg/d) and ECM (41.8 vs. 40.3 kg/d), and milk fat percentage (3.64 vs. 3.43%). While the MOS diet had no effects on performance compared to the Control, the combination treatment MOS+SC increased milk protein percentage (p<0.05). Also, the MOS supplementation, both alone or in combination with SC, numerically increased milk fat percentage. The SC supplementation increased apparent digestibility of DM and crude protein while the MOS supplementation did not affect digestibility. Concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ruminal pH were similar across treatments. Overall results indicated that supplementation of MOS produced variable and inconsistent effects on rumen metabolism and performance, whereas SC supplementation improved nutrient digestibility and numerically increased FCM and ECM yields, which could not be enhanced by the combined supplementation of MOS+SC. According to our experimental condition, there was no effect of MOS alone or in combination with SC on dairy cow performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1748-1758
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• 2012

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of chemical composition of wheat shorts and red dog on energy and amino acid digestibility in growing pigs and to establish prediction models to estimate their digestible (DE) and metabolizable (ME) energy content and as well as their standardized ileal digestible (SID) amino acid content. For Exp. 1, sixteen diets were fed to thirty-two growing pigs according to a completely randomized design during three successive periods. The basal diet was based on corn and soybean meal while the other fifteen diets contained 28.8% wheat shorts (N = 7) or red dog (N = 8), added at the expense of corn and soybean meal. Over the three periods, each diet was fed to six pigs with each diet being fed to two pigs during each period. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy in wheat shorts and red dog averaged 75.1 and 87.9%. The DE values of wheat shorts and red dog averaged 13.8 MJ/kg (range 13.1 to 15.0 MJ/kg) and 15.1 MJ/kg (range 13.3 to 16.6 MJ/kg) of dry matter, respectively. For Exp. 2, twelve growing pigs were allotted to two $6{\times}6$ Latin Square Designs with six periods. Ten of the diets were formulated based on 60% wheat shorts or red dog and the remaining two diets were nitrogen-free diets based on cornstarch and sucrose. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as an indigestible marker in all diets. There were no differences (p>0.05) in SID values for the amino acids in wheat shorts and red dog except for lysine and methionine. Apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and SID values for lysine in different sources of wheat shorts or red dog, which averaged 78.1 and 87.8%, showed more variation than either methionine or tryptophan. A stepwise regression was performed to establish DE, ME and amino acid digestibility prediction models. Data indicated that fiber content and amino acid concentrations were good indicators to predict energy values and amino acid digestibility, respectively. The present study confirms the large variation in the energy content and amino acid digestibility in wheat shorts and red dog, and describes the factors that influence this variation and presents equations based on chemical composition that could probably be used to predict the DE and ME values as well as the amino acid digestibility of wheat shorts and red dog.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.952-960
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of carbohydrate source and cottonseed meal level in the concentrate on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in swamp buffaloes. Four, 4-yr old rumen fistulated swamp buffaloes were randomly assigned to receive four dietary treatments according to a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. Factor A was carbohydrate source; cassava chip (CC) and CC+rice bran at a ratio 3:1 (CR3:1), and factor B was level of cottonseed meal (CM); 109 g CP/kg (LCM) and 328 g CP/kg (HCM) in isonitrogenous diets (490 g CP/kg). Buffaloes received urea-treated rice straw ad libitum and supplemented with 5 g concentrate/kg BW. It was found that carbohydrate source did not affect feed intake, nutrient intake, digested nutrients, nutrient digestibility, ammonia nitrogen concentration, fungi and bacterial populations, or microbial protein synthesis (p>0.05). Ruminal pH at 6 h after feeding and the population of protozoa at 4 h after feeding were higher when buffalo were fed with CC than in the CR3:1 treatment (p<0.05). Buffalo fed with HCM had a lower roughage intake, nutrient intake, population of total viable and cellulolytic bacteria and microbial nitrogen supply than the LCM fed group (p<0.05). However, nutrient digestibility, ruminal pH, ammonia concentration, population of protozoa and fungi, and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis were not affected by cottonseed meal levels (p>0.05). Based on this experiment, concentrate with a low level of cottonseed meal could be fed with cassava chips as an energy source in swamp buffalo receiving rice straw.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2013

Eight male cattle of the Local Yellow breed with an average live weight of 121 kg and an average age of 18 months were used to evaluate the effects of different levels of sun-dried cassava (Manihot esculenta) foliage supplementation on mineral metabolism in growing cattle fed rice straw and para grass as basal diet. Rice straw ad libitum and para grass (Brachiaria mutica) at 1% DM of BW comprised the basal diet. The study was arranged as a $4{\times}4$ double Latin square design, with cassava foliage contributing 0, 0.8, 1.6 or 2.4 g CP/kg BW. The cassava foliage intake was lower than the planned levels. DM consumption was significantly affected by cassava foliage supplementation, with the largest intake observed at the two highest levels of cassava foliage supplementation. Rice straw intake showed the opposite pattern, with lower intake at higher cassava foliage supplementation. No refusals occurred for para grass in any of the treatments. Ca, P, Mg, K, S and Mn intake increased significantly with increasing intake of cassava foliage, but Na intake was not affected by treatment. Faecal excretion of Ca, Mg, S and Mn increased significantly with increasing cassava foliage intake. There were no differences between P, K and Na excretion in faeces. There was a significant diet effect on Mg, S and Mn digestibility. Mg and Mn digestibility increased with increasing cassava foliage supplementation, while S digestibility decreased. Ca, P, K and Na digestibility was not affected by diet. There was a significant effect of treatment on P retention, with the highest value observed for supplementation with 1.6 g CP/kg BW cassava foliage. Ca and Mg showed similar trends, with the highest retention again for supplementation with 1.6 g CP/kg BW cassava foliage. There were weak but significant positive correlations between nitrogen retention and the macro minerals Ca, P and Mg. Furthermore, retention of all these minerals was positively correlated. Mineral losses in urine were not affected by dietary treatment with the exception of P excretion, which was affected by treatment. In conclusion, cassava foliage is a good Ca source which compensates for the low Ca content in rice straw and para grass, but P deficiency appears to be exaggerated in cattle with higher cassava intake. The results suggest that under these conditions growing cattle on a high cassava intake would benefit from P and S supplementation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.961-970
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• 2013

Eight multiparous Holstein cows ($569{\pm}47$ kg of BW; $84{\pm}17$ DIM) were used to evaluate the effects of different levels of coarsely ground wheat (CGW) as replacements for ground corn (GC) in diets on feed intake and digestion, ruminal fermentation, lactation performance, and plasma metabolites profiles in dairy cows. The cows were settled in a replicated $4{\times}4$ Latin square design with 3-wk treatment periods; four cows in one of the replicates were fitted with rumen cannulas. The four diets contained 0, 9.6, 19.2, and 28.8% CGW and 27.9, 19.2, 9.6, and 0% GC on dry matter (DM) basis, respectively. Increasing dietary levels of CGW, daily DM intake tended to increase quadratically (p = 0.07); however, apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in cows fed the 28.8% CGW diets. Ruminal pH remained in the normal physiological range for all dietary treatments at all times, except for the 28.8% CGW diets at 6 h after feeding; moreover, increasing dietary levels of CGW, the daily mean ruminal pH decreased linearly (p = 0.01). Increasing the dietary levels of CGW resulted in a linear increase in ruminal propionate (p<0.01) and ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) (p = 0.06) concentration, while ruminal acetate: propionate decreased linearly (p = 0.03) in cows fed the 28.8% CGW diets. Milk production was not affected by diets; however, percentage and yield of milk fat decreased linearly (p = 0.02) when the level of CGW was increased. With increasing levels of dietary CGW, concentrations of plasma beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) (p = 0.07) and cholesterol (p<0.01) decreased linearly, whereas plasma glucose (p = 0.08), insulin (p = 0.02) and urea nitrogen (p = 0.02) increased linearly at 6 h after the morning feeding. Our results indicate that CGW is a suitable substitute for GC in the diets of dairy cows and that it may be included up to a level of 19.2% of DM without adverse effects on feed intake and digestion, ruminal fermentation, lactation performance, and plasma metabolites if the cows are fed fiber-sufficient diets.