Influence of moisture content of forage on ruminal functional specific gravity and passage of digesta
| Autor: | E. C. Townsend, E. C. Prigge, J. P. S. Neel |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1995 |
| Předmět: |
Male
animal structures Rumen Forage Biology Beef cattle Poaceae Random Allocation Animal science Fodder Latin square Genetics Animals Particle Size Water content Specific Gravity food and beverages Water General Medicine Animal Feed Agronomy Hay Animal Science and Zoology Cattle Digestion Gastrointestinal Motility Food Science Specific gravity Medicago sativa |
| Zdroj: | Journal of animal science. 73(10) |
| ISSN: | 0021-8812 |
| Popis: | Four crossbred beef steers (392 kg BW) fitted with ruminal cannulas were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square experiment with treatments arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial to evaluate effects of forage species (F) and reconstitution (R) on apparent digestibility, ruminal kinetics, and digesta functional specific gravity (FSG). Dietary treatments were alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and timothy (Phleum pratense L.) hays (90% DM) and the same hays reconstituted with water to 38% DM. Apparent DM digestibility was unaffected by R or F. Proportion of ruminal digesta with a FSG of .9 to 1.1 or 1.1 to 1.2 decreased linearly (P.05) after feeding, whereas the proportion with FSG1.2 increased linearly (P.01). Reconstitution decreased (P.10) the proportion of ruminal digesta with FSG of 1.1 to 1.2 and increased (P.10) the proportion with a FSG1.2 compared with the hay diets. Reconstitution decreased digesta passage rate for timothy forage; no influence on passage rate for alfalfa was detected (F x R, P.10). Ruminal DM pool was increased by reconstitution (P.10). Inert particles of 1-mm length passed from the rumen at a faster rate (P.05) than 3-mm particles. Inert particles with SG of 1.32 passed from the rumen at a faster rate (P.05) in the reconstituted alfalfa than in the dry alfalfa diet but at a slower rate in the reconstituted timothy than in the dry timothy diet. These results suggest that factors other than SG of the digesta can have a profound effect on passage of forage particles from the rumen. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|