Return to search

Gastrointestinal acidity, protein and starch digestibility and amino acid absorption in ruminants fed a high-concentrate diet with limestone, magnesium oxide or defluorinated phosphate

Twelve wether lambs (32kg) with abomasal and ileal cannula were fed a 90% concentrate basal diet (800 g/d), basal + 1.5% magnesium oxide (MgO)(812 g/d), basal + 1.5% limestone (812 g/d) or basal + 3.0% limestone (824 g/d) to study the effect of·these minerals on intestinal pH, rumen fermentation, N balance, dry matter and crude protein digestibility (DMD, CPD), and small intestinal disappearance of amino acids (AAD). Limestone (3%) increased (P < .03) rumen pH. Magnesium oxide increased (P < .10) ileal and fecal pH. Limestone significantly increased N absorption and pre-abomasal DMD, but decreased (P < .03) AAD. N retention was not improved by the treatments. An 82-d feeding trial was conducted with 72 wether lambs (avg initial wt: 28 kg) to study the effect of 1 or 3% fine (70% < 53 µ) or coarse (85% > 425 µ) limestone on rumen environment, weight gain and feed efficiency of lambs fed an all-concentrate diet. Rumen pH and VFA molar proportions were not affected by the treatments. Limestone (3.0%) decreased (P < .10) total rumen VFA concentrations and increased (P < .10) fecal pH. Weight gain was not different (P > .10) among the treatments. Coarse limestone increased (P < .10) feed efficiency. Five Angus heifers (285 kg) with duodenal and ileal cannulae were fed a 90% concentrate control diet (7.5 kg/d) or the same diet containing 1.60% defluorinated phosphate-regular (5.5%, 19.0% and 33.0% on 1400, 1180 and 850 µ sieves, respectively, DRP-R), 1.60% defluorinated phosphate-coarse (85% evenly among large sieves, DRP-C), 1.28% limestone or .5% MgO to study the effect of limestone or MgO on intestinal pH, DMD, starch digestibility (SD), CPD and AAD in beef cattle fed a high-concentrate diet. Ileal pH was increased by MgO. Fecal pH was increased (P < .05) as follows: MgO > DRP > limestone and control. Minerals increased (P < .05) duodenal liquid flow. Limestone and DRP-C increased (P < .05) acid flow to the duodenum. Total tract DMD, SD and CPD were similar among treatments. Limestone and DRP-R increased (P < .10) AAD. DRP-C tended to increase AAD, but differences were not statistically significant. / Ph. D.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54321
Date January 1988
CreatorsChristiansen, Michael Lee
ContributorsAnimal Science, Webb, Jr., Kenneth, Thye, Forrest W., McCarthy, Farabee D., Fontenot, Joseph P., Herbein, Joseph H. Jr.
PublisherVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation, Text
Formatxi, 201 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
RelationOCLC# 18950906

Page generated in 0.0016 seconds