Intake, Duodenal Flow, and Ruminal Characteristics of Long or Short Chopped Alfalfa-Timothy Silage with or without Inoculant

Effect_of inoculation on silage quality and performance of steers fed grass and cereal silages either alone or in combination. Can Overall, DM intake was srmilar in control and in-oculated silages, but there. *i, un inte.u.tion (kg d-I, P = 0.05 1 ; g k5t Bw, P = 0.037) between crop and ino.r,funt "* indicating that intake lias increased by inoculant use in grass silages only. Body weight gain was improved by l}%when inoculant was used (P = OJOOI This resulted in improved feed efficiency in wheat silage treated with inoculant (interaction, p = 0.023). Body weight gain decreased linearly as the proportion of wheat siiage in the diet increased (P < 0.001), irrespective of inoculant use. Apparent dieestibitity of DM and co-pon.tttt determined in sheep was higher for grass than wheat silage (p < 0.05), but there was no effect olinocutitlon on digestibility of either crop type. In this study, the application of inoculant to grass sltage improrred intake, while its application to wh-eat siiage improved efficiency of feed utilization'

“…However, in some cases where inoculation has markedly influenced fermentation, there has been a reduction in protein solubility (Petit and Flipot 1990) Williams et al (1995). …”

Section: Chemical Gompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of inoculation on silage quality and performance of steers fed grass and cereal silages either alone or in combination

Charmley¹,

Winter²,

McRae³

et al. 1996

“…At the time of feeding, chopped bales and horizontal silages had mean particle lengths ranging from 1.0 to 1.7 cm. This variation is not expected to affect intake: it has been shown that silages with mean particle lengths ranging from 1.8 to 5.3 cm (Deswysen et al 1978) or from | .5 to 2.1 cm (Petit and Flipot 1990) do not affect intake in sheep.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of dry-matter content on the nutritive value of individually wrapped round-bale timothy silage fed to sheep

Beaulieu¹,

Seoane²,

Savoie³

et al. 1993

Thirty-two sheep (30.0 kg avg. BW) were used to study the effects of dry-matter (DM) content at harvest on the nutritive value of timothy grass silages conserved as round bales of high (52.1%, DM50), medium (39.9%, DM40) and low (23.1%, DM25) DM. Chopped grass of 24.4% DM conserved in a horizontal silo (HS) was used as a control. Gross energy, crude protein (CP) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) contents were similar for all silages (P > 0.05). Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) contents decreased as DM of the silages decreased (P < 0.05). Acid detergent lignin and ash contents were highest in HS and lowest in DM40 silages (P < 0.05). Silage pH and water-soluble carbohydrates decreased with decreasing DM of the silages (P < 0.05), while ammonia-N and lactate levels increased (P < 0.05). Acetate concentrations in round bales were lower than in HS silage (P < 0.05). Significant butyrate concentrations were detected only in DM25 silage. Round-bale silages were chopped before feeding and fed ad libitum. DM intake was 14.5% higher for DM50 and DM40 silages than for DM25 and HS silages (P < 0.001). Average daily gain and feed efficiency were higher for high-DM silages than for DM25 and HS silages (P < 0.01). Apparent digestibilities of NDF, cellulose and crude fiber of the silages were similar, but DM, organic matter, energy and hemicellulose digestibilities were higher for HS than for DM25 silage. Apparent digestibilities of ADF and CP were higher for high-DM silages than for DM25 and HS silages (P < 0.04). The results indicate that to obtain good-quality silage, the DM content of round bales should be 40–50%. The better performance obtained with high-DM silages was indicative of a more efficient utilization of metabolizable energy for gain. Key words: Round-bale silage, timothy, forage

“…However, research in the United Kingdom (Haigh 1990;Haigh and Peers 1992) and Canada (Nicholson et al 1991) has shown that performance of cattle fed RB silage is less than that of cattle fed PC silage. This has been attributed to a slower, less extensive microbial fermentation (Nicholson et al 1992), and to lower voluntary feed intake due to greater particle size (Petit and Flipot 1990).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of maceration at mowing on silage conservation,voluntary intake, digestibility and growth rate of steers fed precision chopped or round bale silages

Charmley¹,

Savoie²,

McRae³

et al. 1999

X. 1999. Effect of maceration at mowing on silage conservation, voluntary intake, digestibility and growth rate of steers fed precision chopped or round bale silages. Can. J. Anim. . Four silages were made from the primary growth of an orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)/white clover (Trifolium repens) sward in mid-June. Precision chopped (PC) and round bale (RB) silages were made from wilted forage that had been cut either with a regular mower conditioner (CON) or a mower macerator (MAC). Silages were fed to growing steers in a 10-wk feeding trial using a 2 × 2 factorial design. To determine apparent digestibility, silages were fed to wether sheep and ruminally incubated in nylon bags using two canulated cows. The DM concentration of silages ranged between 273 and 362 g kg -1 and was higher in RB than PC silage. Maceration increased fibre concentration in RB silage but had little influence on PC silage. Nitrogen and its fractions were not influenced by treatment. Maceration increased total acid concentration in PC silages but lowered it in RB silage. Lactic acid accounted for a higher proportion of total acids in macerated silages than in control silages. Steers fed RB silage consumed 35% more DM than those fed PC silage (P < 0.001). Maceration reduced intake of PC silage by 18% but did not affect intake of RB silage (interaction; P < 0.05). Maceration had no effect on BW gain in steers fed PC silage, but in RB silage gains were increased from 0.87 kg d -1 to 1.09 kg d -1 (interaction; P < 0.05). Feed utilization efficiency was poorer for RB than PC silage (P < 0.001) and maceration improved feed utilization (P < 0.001). The DM, OM and NDF digestibility coefficients were reduced by maceration in RB but not in PC silage (interaction; P < 0.05); a similar trend was observed for ADF (interaction; P < 0.10). Apparent N digestibility was less in MAC than CON silage (P < 0.01). Dry matter disappearance from nylon bags was not influenced by maceration in PC silage but was higher in RB-MAC than RB-CON silage. It is concluded that influences of maceration on intake and gain is dependent upon the physical form of the silage. . Les ensilages étaient servis à des bouvillons en croissance dans le cadre d'un essai d'alimentation de 10 semaines, selon un dispositif expérimental factoriel 2 × 2. Pour la mesure de la digestibilité apparente, ils étaient servis à des moutons mâles castrés et mis à incuber en sachets de nylon dans le rumen de 2 vaches fistulisées. La teneur en m.s. de l'ensilage, qui allait de 273 à 362 g kg -1 , était plus élevée dans l'ensilage BC que dans l'ensilage CF. Le surconditionnement mécanique provoquait l'accroissement de la teneur en fibre de l'ensilage BC, mais avait peu d'effet à cet égard dans l'ensilage CF. L'azote et ses diverses fractions étaient les mêmes quel que soit le traitement. La surconditionnement accroissait la concentration des acides totaux l'ensilage CF, mais avait l'effet inverse dans l'ensilage BC. L'acide lactique comptait pour une plus grande proportion des acides totaux dans l'...