Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T08:53:30.993Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Intake of hay by cattle given supplements of barley subjected to various forms of physical treatment or treatment with alkali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

E. R. Ørskov
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
H. S. Soliman
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
A. Macdearmid
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB

Summary

Voluntary intake of hay by steers was measured when supplements of barley were given: (1) whole unprocessed, (2) NaOH treated, (3) torrified (infra-red heat treatment), (4) crimped, (5) rolled, (6) ground and (7) ground and pelleted. The cereal supplements were given at 50 g/kg live weight0·75/day. The voluntary intakes of hay dry matter were 42·1, 43·0, 38·1, 35·1, 34·9, 34·4 and 30·5 g/kg W0·75/day respectively.

Dry-matter digestibilities of barley given without hay were (g/kg): whole, 672; NaOH treated, 807; torrified, 813 and rolled, 834.

Incubation of feed samples in the rumen in polyester bags showed that rolled barley disappeared much more rapidly than NaOH treated and torrified barley.

It is concluded that the deleterious effect of a cereal based supplement on rate of digestion of cellulose and consequently voluntary intake can be largely overcome by use of processing methods which reduce the rate of release of starch and yet ensure complete digestion. Treatment with NaOH looks promising in this respect.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council (1965). The Nutrient Requirement of Farm Livestock, no. 2, Ruminants. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Wainman, F. W. & Wilson, R. S. (1961). The regulation of food intake by sheep. Animal Production 3, 5161.Google Scholar
Chimwano, A. M., Ørskov, E. R. & Stewart, C. S. (1976). Effect of dietary proportions of roughage and concentrate on rate of dried grass disappearance in the rumen of sheep. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 35, 101A.Google Scholar
Fell, B. F., Kay, M., Whitelaw, F. G. & Boyne, R. (1968). Observations on the development of ruminal lesions in calves fed on barley. Research in Veterinary Science 9, 458–66.Google Scholar
Head, M. J. (1953). The effect of quality and quantity of carbohydrate and protein in the ration of the sheep on the digestibility of cellulose and other constituents of the ration with a note on the effect of adding vitamins of the B complex on the digestibility and retention of the nutrients of a hay ration. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 43, 281–93.Google Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R., Poutiainen, E. R. & Tayler, J. C. (1971). The growth of young cattle fed on dried grass alone and with barley. Animal Production 13, 461–72.Google Scholar
Mann, S. O. & Ørskov, E. R. (1975). The effect of feeding whole or pelleted barley to lambs on some parameters of their rumen microbial populations. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 34, 63A.Google ScholarPubMed
MacLeod, N. A., Macdearmid, A. & Kay, M. (1972). A note on the use of field beans (Vicia faba) for growing cattle. Animal Production 14, 111–14.Google Scholar
McRae, J. C. & Armstrong, D. G. (1969). Studies on intestinal digestion in sheep. II. Digestion of some carbohydrate constituents in hay, cereal and haycereal rations. British Journal of Nutrition 23, 377–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehrez, A. Z. & Ørskov, E. R. (1977). The use of a dacron bag technique to determine rate of degradation of protein and energy in the rumen. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 88, 645–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. & Fraser, C. (1975). The effect of processing of barley based supplements on rumen pH, rate of digestion and voluntary intake in sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 34, 493500.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. & Greenhalgh, J. F. D. (1977). Alkali treatment as a method of processing whole grains for cattle. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 89, 253–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ørskov, E. R., Smart, R. I. & Mehrez, A. Z. (1974). A method of including urea in whole grain. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 83, 299302.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. (1963). Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. II. A rapid method for the determination of fibre and lignin. Journal of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists 46, 829–35.Google Scholar