• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1689-1697
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• 2013

This study was designed to determine the effect of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and nutrient digestibility. Four rumen-fistulated dairy steers were randomly assigned according to a 2 (2 factorial arrangement in a 4 (4 Latin square design to receive four dietary treatments. Factor A was roughage source: untreated rice straw (RS) and urea-treated (3%) rice straw (UTRS), and factor B was type of physical form of rice straw: long form rice straw (LFR) and chopped (4 cm) rice straw (CHR). The steers were offered the concentrate at 0.5% body weight (BW) /d and rice straw was fed ad libitum. DM intake and nutrient digestibility were increased (p<0.05) by urea treatment. Ruminal pH were decreased (p<0.05) in UTRS fed group, while ruminal ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were increased (p<0.01) by urea treatment. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations increased (p<0.01) when steers were fed UTRS. Furthermore, VFA concentrations were not altered by treatments (p>0.05), except propionic acid (C3) was increased (p<0.05) in UTRS fed group. Nitrogen (N) balance was affected by urea treatment (p<0.05). Microbial protein synthesis (MCP) synthesis were greater by UTRS and CHR group (p<0.05). The efficiency of microbial N synthesis was greater for UTRS than for RS (p<0.05). From these results, it can be concluded that using the long form combined with urea treatment of rice straw improved feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation and efficiency of microbial N synthesis in crossbred dairy steers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.91-97
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• 1993

This experiment was carried out to examine the effects of urea-treated rice straw feeding on the growth performance of crossbred Holstein heifers under different feeding conditions. In the first experiment, the animals were given diets having 2 levels of TDN and CP and 3 levels of crude fiber (22, 30 and 36%) which were formulated with urea-treated rice straw and concentrates. Daily weight gain of heifers was not different between 22% and 30% CF diets, but the reduction of TDN or CP level to 90% of the requirements decreased the weight gain. Fiber content of 36% also reduced the body weight gain. The reduction of TDN significantly reduced DM intake and increased feed conversion ratio. Feed cost per kg weight gain was significantly increased by an increase in CF to 36%. In the second experiment, separate feeding and total mixing feeding were compared. There were no significant differences between the two feeding systems in body weight gain although the possibility of superiority in SF to TMF remained. DM intake was not affected by the feeding system, but 30% CF diet gave higher DM intake. Feed cost per kg weight gain was lower in the 30% CF diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1989

Nutritive values and fermentation rates of rice straw treated with 3% anhydrous and 3% aqueous ammonia were evaluated both in vitro and sheep metabolism trials. Daily gain, feed efficiency and feed cost per gain were also determined with growing Holstein bulls fed anhydrous and aqueous ammonia treated rice straw. Crude protein was increased 2.4 fold and NDF was decreased 6.5%, but ADF and cellulose were not different between untreated and ammonia treated rice straw. An average of 35.5% of total added ammonia-N retained in the rice straw and other 64.5% was not retained in the rice straw. Ammonia treatment increased in vitro DM, NDF, ADF and cellulose digestibilities by 44.8%, 43.3%, 49.4% and 42.4%, respectively, and fermentation rates by 63.3%, 132.4%, 49.4% and 42.4%, respectively. In sheep metabolism trials, DM digestibilities of rice straw treated with anhydrous and aqueous ammonia were increased 22% and 36%, respectively, and digestible DM intakes by 48% and 70%, respectively in sheep fed anhydrous and aqueous ammonia treated rice straw over untreated rice straw. Rumen ammonia and blood urea were considerably higher in sheep fed ammonia treated rice straw than sheep fed untreated rice straw. Daily gain of Holstein bulls was increased 20.8% and 29.9% and rice straw intakes were increased 28.4% and 44.3% in anhydrous and aqueous ammonia treated rice straw over untreated rice straw. Feed conversion was improved 9.5% and 10.3% and feed cost/gain was reduced 7.1% and 9.2% respectively in anhydrous and aqueous ammonia treated rice straw group as compared with untreated rice straw group.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.165-169
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• 1994

Forty cross bred ($168\;{\pm}\;28\;kg$) bull calves were offered either untreated (US) or urea ammonia treated (TS) rice straw at five levels of feeding, namely; 60, 80, 100, 120 140% of ad libitum. Ad libitum level for each animal was estimated over a period of one month, which was followed by a preliminary period of 21 days and a collection period of 15 days. The maximum organic matter intake (OMI-kg/100 kg BW) were 2.08 and 3.35 for US and TS, respectively and urea treatment increased the maximum OMI by 61% than for US. In order to reach maximum intake the amount feed refusal should be 25% for US, but with TS maximum intake was not reached even when the amount of feed refused was 39% of that consumed. The OMD of US significantly decreased with increase in OMI, whereas with TS the decrease was not significant. The inability of animals to select between stems and leaves particularly in TS might be one of the reasons for its constant digestibility. Considering the substantial increases in intake and the negative effect on digestibility of US, further trials are warranted, as well as studies to determine the practical implications.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 1988

The rumen degradability of rice straw (untreated, urea-sprayed, urea-treated), grasses (Panicum maximum, Pennisetum clandestinum) and rice bran was compared. The mean in vivo organic matter digestibility of the untreated (US), urea-supplemented (SS) and urea-ammonia treated (TS) rice straw were 50.9, 53.9 and 57.4%, respectively. Rice bran contained extremely high levels of acid-insoluble ash (25.2% DM), and its OMD was 36.1%. Grasses had OMD values around 66%. Degradability measurements were performed with buffaloes using the nylon bag technique. The organic matter (OM) disappearance data were fitted to an model which was used to describe degradation pattern. The mean potentially degradable fraction for US, SS and TS was 61.5, 61.9 and 69.4%, respectively. Urea-ammonia treatment increased both the amount of OM degraded and the rate at which it was degraded in the rumen. Both grasses had similar values for degradable fraction (around 65%) and for rate constant for degradation (0.04). Rice bran contained high proportions of readily soluble material (23.9%), but the degradable OM fraction was only 13.2%. The low quality of rice bran is attributed to the contamination of rice hulls during processing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.363-372
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• 1994

In two separate experiments with crossbred bulls (Sahiwal $\times$ indigenous) the effect of access to a urea-molasses lickblock (MOL-U-MIN) on straw diets was studied. The animals were given either untreated (US) or urea treated (TS) rice straw with or without lickblock supplementation. In experiment 1, individual dry matter intake (DMI) and dry matter digestibility (DMD) were measured, while in experiment 2 in addition to the above rumen (pH, ammonia, minerals) and blood (protein, minerals and haemotological) parameters were also measured. With both experiments urea treatment did not effect DMI, but lickblock supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased DMI. The DMD values obtained in both experiments for TS were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than for US, but lickblock supplementation did not effect the DMD of either US or TS fed animals. Both urea treatment (6.97 vs 6.93) and lickblock supplementation (6.98 vs 6.92) significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the rumen pH. Urea treatment and lickblock supplementation increased the rumcn $NH_3-N$ concentration (mg/100 ml) from 8.7 to 11.9 and 9.2 to 11.4, respectively. Both US and TS diets fed with or without lickblock increased the molar ratio of Na : K in saliva. Phosphorus content in blood plasma was significantly (p < 0.01) increased due to lickblock supplementation, whereas the Fc content in blood was significantly increased (p < 0.01) by urea treatment. Haemoglobin content in blood ranged from 11.3 to 11.7 g/dl, and was not influenced by urea treatment or lickblock supplementation. Lickblock significantly reduced the number of red blood cells, but increased the mean corpuscular volume. It is concluded that feeding urea treated straw with proper mineral supplementation could be a more economical alternative to lickblock supplementation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1090-1097
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• 2001

Nine tons of fresh rice straw from early-maturing varieties was ensiled with 50 g urea $kg^{-1}$ DM straw in plastic bags immediately after threshing. Five months after storage, preserved straw was used to partially replace elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumach) for lactating cows. Eight crossbred Holstein lactating cows (75% of Holstein blood) in their second to fourth lactation and in mid-lactation were arranged in a balanced design with two squares consisting of $4\;periods{\times}4\;treatments$ (100% grass ad lib. as a control; 75% grass+urea treated fresh rice straw (UTrFRS) ad lib.; 50% grass+UTrFRS ad lib.; 25% grass+UTrFRS ad libitum) in one square. A concentrate supplement was given at a rate of 400 g per day per kg of milk produced. Samples of fresh straw taken in the field and UTrFRS and elephant grass taken at feeding time were evaluated in a degradation trial with 3 fistulated heifers (undefined blood ratio of crossbred of Sindhi and local yellow cattle). Straw preserved for 5-9 months was in nearly all cases of good quality. Crude protein (CP) content was increased 2.1 fold and 48 h dry matter loss (DML) was 20% higher compared to dry straw. Elephant grass cultivated intensively was low in DM content and 10% higher in 48 h DML compared to UTrFRS. Dry matter intake (DMI) was higher for the mixture of UtrFRS and Elephant grass, and highest when one-third of the roughage was UTrFRS. Higher DMI of mixed roughage diets was probably due to the low DM content of elephant grass in the sole grass roughage diet. Increasing substitution of elephant grass with UTrFRS up to 75% of the roughage component increased milk fat content and had no effect on milk yield and other milk composition parameters. Feeding UTrFRS, partially replacing elephant grass in the diets of lactating cows in the dry season can reduce the cost of roughage.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1102-1108
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• 2000

An experiment was conducted as a Latin square design with four rumen fistulated local yellow cattle with a mean live weight of 230 kg. The treatments were: $(CLM_0)$ urea-treated rice straw ad libitum plus 1 kg cassava root meal (basal diet), $(CLM_{500})$ basal diet plus 500 g cassava leaf meal, $(CLM_{1000})$ basal diet plus 1,000 g cassava leaf meal, and $(CLM_{1500})$ basal diet plus 1,500 g cassava leaf meal. The results showed that there were differences in dry matter intake of urea-treated rice straw between treatments (p<0.05). The highest total dry matter intake was observed for treatment $CLM_{1500}$, with 2.62 kg DM/100 kg LWt/day, followed by treatments $CLM_{1000}$, $CLM_{500}$ and $CLM_0$, with 2.42, 2.00 and 1.86 kg DM/100 kg LWt/day, respectively. The ruminal ammonia concentration on treatment $CLM_{1500}$ was greater than on treatments $CLM_{1000}$, $CLM_{500}$ and $CLM_0$. There were non-significant differences in the ruminal pH among the treatments. The in sacco degradability of cassava leaf meal and cassava root meal was high, and on average 75 and 85% respectively of the DM had disappeared after 24 h of incubation. Degradation rate of urea treated rice straw was 64% after 72 h of incubation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.421-426
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• 1994

Twelve cross bred cows ($300{\pm}20kg$) were fed a basal ration consisting of 1 kg concentrate and untreated or urea treated rice with or without urea-molasses-wheat bran lick block supplementation. The lick blocks were prepared locally using cement as a binding agent. The experiment lasted for 48 days consisting of a preliminary period of 14 days and a measurement period of 34 days. Daily dry ma tter intake (DMI) of straw and lick block, and daily milk yield were recorded during the measurement period. Intake of lick block when fed with untreated straw (US) was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than with urea treated (TS) straw (397 vs 307g $100kg^{-1}$), but lick block supplementation did not significantly affect the in take of US (1.80 vs 1.83kg $100kg^{-1}day^{-1}$) or TS (2.27 vs 2.17kg $100kg^{-1}day^{-1}$). Both urea treatment and lick block supplementation significantly increased (p < 0.01) the milk yield of cows, and the increase due to urea treatment was higher than that due to lick block supplementation. Benefit/cost ratio obtained for feeding US or TS with 1 kg dairy concentrate was similar (5.4), but the marginal return favours TS (5.4:1.0). The benefit/cost ratio for US and TS supplemented with lick block was 3.4 and 3.7. respectively, but the marginal return with US was higher than with TS (1.6:1.0 and 0.9:1.0, respectively).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.75-83
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• 1990

An experiment was conducted with three ruminally and intestinally cannulated non-lactating cows of Finnish Ayrshire breed, to assess the ruminal degradation characteristics of oat (Avena sativa), rye (Secale cereale) and rice (Oryza sativa) straw by the nylon bag technique, and the subsequent post-ruminal degradation of their rumen-undegraded residues by using the mobile bag technique, respectively. The straw samples were untreated or treated with aqueous $NH_3$ or with urea solution in cold or hot water. The untreated straw samples were milled or chopped, and the treated straw samples were chopped. The constant values a, b, and c were computed according to the exponential equation, where a = intercept of degradation curve at time 0, b = potentially degradable material, c = rate of degradation of band (a+b) = maximum potential degradability (asymptote). It was found that nitrogen contents of chemically treated straw were markedly increased by both $NH_3$ and urea treatments. Milling the samples attributed to a remarkable loss at 0 h incubation time as compared to chopping of the respective samples. However, chemical treatment markedly improved the b value and the subsequent (a+b) values for dry matter, organic matter, neutral-detergent fiber, and acid-detergent fiber of the samples. Furthermore, temperature of the water used in the urea solutions was considered essential, since urea in hot water rather than in cold water seemed to enhance the overall degradability. The disappearance of rumen-incubated straw residues from the mobile bags ranged from 4.5 to 9.6% for the parameters measured. On average, the OM disappearance from bags was clearly higher for the residues of urea treated straw compared to those of ammonia treated straw, but the disappearance of NDF tended, however, to be higher on the ammonia treatment.