Effects of Three Feeding Systems on Production Performance, Rumen Fermentation and Rumen Digesta Particle Structure of Beef Cattle

Abstract

The effects of three different feeding systems on beef cattle production performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen digesta particle structure were investigated by using 18 Limousin (steers) with a similar body weight (575±10 kg) in a 80-d experiment. The animals were equally and randomly divided into three treatment groups, namely, total mixed ration group (cattle fed TMR), SI1 group (cattle fed concentrate firstly then roughage), and SI2 group (cattle fed roughage firstly then concentrate). The results showed that the average daily gain was significantly higher in cattle receiving TMR than in those receiving SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05). Consumption per kg weight gain of concentrate, silage, and combined net energy (NEmf) were significantly decreased when cattle received TMR, unlike when they received SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05), indicating that the feed efficiency of TMR was the highest. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was significantly decreased when cattle received TMR compared with that in cattle receiving SI1 (p<0.05), whereas there was no difference compared with that in cattle receiving SI2. Ammonia nitrogen concentration was significantly lower in cattle receiving TMR than in those receiving SI1 and SI2 (p<0.05). The rumen area of cattle that received TMR was significantly larger than that of cattle receiving SI1 (p<0.05), but there was no difference compared with that of cattle receiving SI2. Although there was no significant difference among the three feeding systems in rumen digesta particle distribution, the TMR group trended to have fewer large- and medium-sized particles and more small-sized particles than those in the SI1 and SI2 groups. In conclusion, cattle with dietary TMR showed increased weight gain and ruminal development and decreased BUN. This indicated that TMR feeding was more conducive toward improving the production performance and rumen fermentation of beef cattle.

Linseed Oil Supplementation of Lambs’ Diet in Early Life Leads to Persistent Changes in Rumen Microbiome Structure

“…The high number of unclassified sequences detected in this study has also been reported by other groups ( Creevey et al, 2014 ; Liu et al, 2016 ) and is not surprising given the large percentage of rumen bacteria that still remain unculturable. The generation of a reference set of rumen microbial genome sequences by initiatives such as the Hungate 1000 should facilitate more accurate classification in the future ( Creevey et al, 2014 ).…”

Ruminal methane emissions, metabolic, and microbial profile of Holstein steers fed forage and concentrate, separately or as a total mixed ration

“…According to a survey by Heinrichs et al [ 38 ], only 7.1% of the particles in TMR were greater than 19 mm versus 16–18% for various forages, which is consistent with our results of 54 and 181 g/kg DM that is 5.4% and 18.1% for TMR and SF, respectively. Liu et al [ 39 ] reported that TMR feeding had a greater proportion of ruminal contents with particle size < 1.18 mm, which is the critical size for particles to pass the rumen [ 40 ]. Although reducing forage particle size during the TMR mixing process usually results in reduced rumen solid retention time, the effects on DMI and digestibility remain less clear.…”

Toplam Karma Yemle Beslenen Besi Sığırlarında Fiziksel Etkin Nötral Deterjan Lifin Büyüme Performansına ve Sindirilebilirlik Üzerine Etkisi

“…Excessive amount of long fibres could limit dry matter intake and digestibility, as a short particle size decreases chewing activity and results in a decline of saliva production and rumen pH [18] . Especially regarding this concern, several studies have been conducted on dairy cows [8,19,20] , beef cattle [7,21] and goats [22] .…”