• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1421-1424
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• 2005

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two diets different in crude fibre content and ingredients on performance and on caecal characteristics of rabbits around weaning. Thirty litters from thirty New Zealand White does were divided at Day 18 in two groups fed, respectively, a low fibre concentrate (LFC, consisting mainly of soybean meal, delactated whey, barley) from Day 18-28 followed by a creep feed (CF, consisting mainly in alfalfa meal, barley and wheat bran) from Day 29-32, and a CF from Day 18-32. After weaning (32 days) both groups were fed the CF ad libitum for two weeks. During the pre-weaning period, mortality, milk intake and solid feed intake (from Day 20) were recorded daily, while the live weight of kits was recorded twice, at 18 and 32 days. At day 28, one rabbit/litter was slaughtered in order to obtain data on caecal content characteristics. After weaning, the rabbits were located in collective cages, feeding ad libitum CF; feed intake, live weight and mortality were recorded weekly for two weeks. During the preweaning period, there were no differences between the groups in milk and solid feed intake and, by consequence, in live weight at weaning; instead, the mortality was higher (12.5 vs 4.5%) for the group (A) that changed diet at 28 days. Group A showed also a higher caecal pH (6.12 vs. 5.72), propionate to butyrate ratio (0.73 vs. 0.46), ammonia content (9.3 vs. 7.1 mmol/l), but a lower total volatile fatty acid content (66.8 vs. 82.1 mmol/l) than B Group, probably due to the dried milk whey in the concentrate. After weaning, there were no significant differences between the two groups. The authors concluded that the use of a low fibre concentrate for suckling rabbits is not recommended.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1166-1173
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• 2010

Sixteen Mediterranean pluriparous buffaloes were subdivided into two uniform groups of eight animals. The average weight of the two groups at the start of the trial was 671.2 and 656.7 kg. The number of days from calving were 33.4 and 33.3, and the average milk production was 12.73 and 12.33 kg/d. The trial lasted for 114 days, and was divided into two sub-periods of 58 and 56 days. The two diets, administered ad libitum, had the same forage/concentrate ratio (53/47) but in their formulation the percentage of the two forages varied. Diet 1: alfalfa hay = 10%, maize silage = 43%, concentrate 1 = 47% (6.63 MJ/kg DM of net energy; 179.5 g/kg DM of crude protein). Diet 2: alfalfa hay = 20%, maize silage = 33%, concentrate 2 = 47%, (5.99 MJ/kg DM of net energy; 155.4 g/kg DM of crude protein). For the overall trial period (33-146 days in milk), the intake of dry matter was 17.23 kg/d for Group 1 and 17.29 kg/d for Group 2 and corresponded to 2.50 and 2.58% (p<0.01) of live weight. There was no significant difference between the average weight (689.7 and 669.4 kg) and the body condition score (6.49 and 6.42) of the two groups of buffaloes. Group 1 produced a greater quantity of milk (11.89 vs. 10.90 kg/d, p<0.10) of better quality both for its higher fat content (82.32 vs. 77.29 g/kg, p<0.10) and its protein content (47.36 and 46.38 g/kg). The milk produced by the buffaloes receiving Diet 1 had a better clotting ability, lower values of r (15.98 and 16.42 min) and K20 (1.66 and 1.75 min) and a higher value of A30 (54.45 and 52.73 mm). Taking into consideration the two sub-periods, milk production was significantly different only in the first sub-period (33-90 DIM), in favour of Group 1 (13.08 vs. 11.56 kg/d, p<0.05), while the positive effect of Diet 1 was cancelled out (10.71 and 10.24 kg/d) in the second part of the trial (91-146 DIM).

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2002

In this study, the effects of alfalfa hay included in different ratios of 60%(A), 50%(B), 40%(C) and 30%(D) for the diets of young weaned Korean native goats were investigated on feed intake, digestibilities of nutrients, nitrogen retention, average daily gain and feed efficiency. Crude protein contents of experimental diets were 18% in all treatments. The contents of ADF, NDF and crude ash were higher in A as 26.1, 37.0 and 9.0% compared to the lowest values in D of 20.3, 30.4 and 6.6%. However the contents of non-structural carbohydrates was in the opposite tendency. Daily feed intake (DM) was highest in A (414.4g) and B (417.7g) and significantly (p<0.05) lower in D(362.6g). Dry matter intake per metabolic basal weight (DM g/kg of $BW^{0.75}$ ) were highest in A(73.9g) and lowest in D(64.0g). Average daily gain and feed efficiencies were in the range of 33.3~48.7g and 8.1~13.4% respectively with no statistical differences, however with the increasing trends according to higher percent of roughage in the diets. Digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ADF, NBF, crude ash (CA) and non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) were in the tendency of becoming higher according to higher ratios of concentrate but becoming lower according to higher ratio of alfalfa hay in the diets fed to Korean native goats. Nitrogen retention was lowest in A (1.8g, 15.5%) and highest in D (2.7g, 25.7%). In overall, inclusion of 30~40% alfalfa hay as a roughage in the diets of weaned Korean native goats was superior to the higher rates of inclusion of alfalfa hay in aspects of average daily gain and feed efficiency. The fixed 18% of crude protein content in the diets was efficient for the growth of weaned goats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.629-632
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• 2004

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of substituting bread by-product (BBP) for barley grain in high concentrate fattening diets for kids on nutrient intake, growth performance, and nutrient digestibility. Twenty-eight Baladi kids (body weight=17.1${\pm}$1.0 kg) were assigned randomly to 4 experimental finishing diets (7 kids/treatment) in a completely randomized design for 70 days. The control (CON) diet contained 20, 60, 11, 7 and 2% (DM basis) alfalfa hay, barley grain, soybean meal, corn grain, and mineral and vitamin mix, respectively. Bread by-product substituted barley grain by 10, 20 and 30% of the diet DM in the LBBP, MBBP, and HBBP diets, respectively. Dry matter intakes for the CON, LBBP and MBBP diets were similar (p>0.05; avg.=592 g/day), however, kids fed the HBBP diet had a lower (p<0.05) DM intake (451 g/day). Organic matter and CP intakes showed similar patterns to that observed for DM. Dietary treatments did not affect (p>0.05) average daily gain for kids fed the CON, LBBP and MBBP diets (avg.=150 g/day). Final body weights for kids fed the CON, LBBP and MBBP diets (avg. 27.1 kg) were greater (p<0.05) than for kids fed the HBBP diet (23.7 kg). Feed to gain ratio was greater for the CON, LBBP and MBBP diets (avg. 3.9) compared with the HBBP diet (5.0). No significant (p>0.05) effect of the dietary treatment was observed for DM, OM and NDF digestibility. Substituting BBP for barley grain up to 20% of the diet DM did not affect nutrient intake, growth performance and nutrient digestibility of kids and resulted in a decrease in feed cost.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1726-1735
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• 2014

This study investigated the effects of acarbose addition on changes in ruminal fermentation characteristics and the composition of the ruminal bacterial community in vitro using batch cultures. Rumen fluid was collected from the rumens of three cannulated Holstein cattle fed forage ad libitum that was supplemented with 6 kg of concentrate. The batch cultures consisted of 8 mL of strained rumen fluid in 40 mL of an anaerobic buffer containing 0.49 g of corn grain, 0.21 g of soybean meal, 0.15 g of alfalfa and 0.15g of Leymus chinensis. Acarbose was added to incubation bottles to achieve final concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/mL. After incubation for 24 h, the addition of acarbose linearly decreased (p<0.05) the total gas production and the concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate, total volatile fatty acids, lactate and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It also linearly increased (p<0.05) the ratio of acetate to propionate, the concentrations of isovalerate, valerate and ammonia-nitrogen and the pH value compared with the control. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the addition of acarbose decreased (p<0.05) the proportion of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and increased (p<0.05) the percentage of Bacteroidetes, Fibrobacteres, and Synergistetes compared with the control. A principal coordinates analysis plot based on unweighted UniFrac values and molecular variance analysis revealed that the structure of the ruminal bacterial communities in the control was different to that of the ruminal microbiota in the acarbose group. In conclusion, acarbose addition can affect the composition of the ruminal microbial community and may be potentially useful for preventing the occurrence of ruminal acidosis and the accumulation of LPS in the rumen.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.385-392
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• 2007

A glucose clamp technique was used to compare dietary starch (ST), starch plus sucrose (ST+SU) and sucrose (SU) with regard to the effect on tissue responsiveness and sensitivity to insulin in intact adult male goats. The goats were fed diets containing 1.2 times of ME and CP for maintenance requirements twice daily for 21 d. Of the energy intake, 30% was offered with ST, ST+SU or SU for the respective diets, and 70% as alfalfa hay, ground corn and ground soybean meal at the respective weight ratio of 1, 1, and 0.3 for all diets. Tissue responsiveness and sensitivity to insulin were evaluated using a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp technique with four levels of insulin infusion beyond 13 h after feeding. The concentrations of plasma metabolites and insulin were also determined at 3, 6 and 13 h after feeding to evaluate the effects of different carbohydrates on metabolic states in the body. Plasma glucose concentration was higher (p = 0.01) for SU diet than for ST and ST+SU diets. Increasing SU intake decreased (p<0.01) plasma acetate concentration across the time. At 3 h but not 6 and 13 h after feeding, high lactate (p = 0.01), and non-significant high propionate (p = 0.14) and low urea nitrogen (p = 0.19) concentrations were observed in plasma on SU compared with ST and ST+SU diets. Plasma insulin concentration was not different (p = 0.44) between ST and SU fed animals. In the glucose clamp experiment, considering the effects on the maximal glucose infusion rate (tissue responsiveness to insulin, p = 0.54) and the plasma insulin concentration at half-maximal glucose infusion rate (insulin sensitivity, p = 0.54), SU was not different from ST. It is concluded that SU may not be greatly different from ST with regard to the effect on tissue responsiveness and sensitivity to insulin in adult goats when fed twice daily as part of a high-concentrate diet. The possible greater effects of SU on plasma metabolites concentrations at 3 h than at 6 and 13 h after feeding suggest that a lack of persistency of SU effects during the postfeeding period may be associated with the poor response to SU in insulin action.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.1115-1120
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• 2002

The effects of seed-associated or free linseed oil on fermentation characteristics and long-chain unsaturated fatty acids composition, especially the formation of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and octadecenoic acid (trans-11 $C_{18:1}$, $t-C_{18:1}$) by mixed ruminal bacteria were examined in vitro. Concentrate (1% of culture solution, w/v, as-fed basis) with ground linseed (0.6% of culture solution, w/v, DM basis) or linseed oil as absorbed onto ground alfalfa hay was added to 600 ml mixed solution consisting of strained rumen fluid and artificial saliva at the ratio of 1:1 in a glass culture jar. The culture jar was covered with a glass lid with stirrer, and placed into a water-bath ($39^{\circ}C$) and incubated anaerobically up to 24 h. Seed-associated or free linseed oil did not significantly affect the pH and ammonia concentration in the culture solution. Molar percent of acetate tended to increase while that of propionate decreased with the addition of free oil treatment throughout the incubation. Differences in bacterial number were relatively small, regardless of the form of supplements. Decreasing trends in the compositions of linoleic acid ($C_{18:2}$) and linolenic acid ($C_{18:3}$) but increasing trends of stearic acid ($C_{18:0}$), $t-C_{18:1}$ and CLA compositions were found from culture contents up to 12h incubation when incubated with both ground linseed and linseed oil. The compositions of $C_{18:0}$, $C_{18:2}$ and $C_{18:3}$ were greater but those of oleic acid ($C_{18:1}$), $t-C_{18:1}$ and CLA were smaller in a culture solution containing ground linseed than those containing linseed oil. The ratio of $t-C_{18:1}$ to CLA was lower in the culture solutions containing linseed oil up to 12h incubations as compared to those containing ground linseed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.441-450
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• 2011

This study was conducted to determine the effects of partial replacement of corn grain and soybean meal with agricultural by-product feeds on in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics and optimum levels of mixing ratio. The agricultural by-products to examine the effectiveness of the partial replacement of concentrate were wheat bran, corn gluten feed, bakery waste, soybean curd, rice bran, green kernel rice, soybean hull, distillers' grain, and mushroom substrate. In the first experiment, in vitro ruminal fermentation characteristics of feedstuffs were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after incubation. In the second experiment, fermentation characteristics were investigated with green kernel rice and soybean curd which replaced corn grain or soybean meal. Feed were formulated with 40% corn grain + 20% soybean meal (T1), 40% corn grain + 17.5% soybean meal + 2.5% soybean curd (T2), 25% corn grain + 20% soybean meal + 15% green kernel rice (T3), and 30% corn grain + 15% soybean meal + 6% green kernel rice + 9% soybean curd (T4), respectively, with forage source of 10% alfalfa hay, 20% timothy hay, and 10% corn silage as fed-basis. In 24 and 48 hour cultivations, T4 showed significantly lower pH compared to T1, whereas in 3 and 24 hour cultivations, T4 showed significantly higher DM degradation compared to T1. In addition, the gas production of T3 was also higher than T1 (p<0.05). Overall results of the present experiments indicated that green kernel rice and soybean curd as agricultural by-products have the possibility of partial replacements of corn grain and soybean meal.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.668-674
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• 2013

An in vitro fermentation was conducted to determine the effects of hainanmycin on protein degradation and populations of ammonia-producing bacteria. The substrates (DM basis) for in vitro fermentation consisted of alfalfa hay (31.7%), Chinese wild rye grass hay (28.3%), ground corn grain (24.5%), soybean meal (15.5%) with a forage: concentrate of 60:40. Treatments were the control (no additive) and hainanmycin supplemented at 0.1 (H0.1), 1 (H1), 10 (H10), and 100 mg/kg (H100) of the substrates. After 24 h of fermentation, the highest addition level of hainanmycin decreased total VFA concentration and increased the final pH. The high addition level of hainanmycin (H1, H10, and H100) reduced (p<0.05) branched-chain VFA concentration, the molar proportion of acetate and butyrate, and ratio of acetate to propionate; and increased the molar proportion of propionate, except that for H1 the in molar proportion of acetate and isobutyrate was not changed (p>0.05). After 24 h of fermentation, H10 and H100 increased (p<0.05) concentrations of peptide nitrogen and AA nitrogen and proteinase activity, and decreased (p<0.05) $NH_3$-N concentration and deaminase activity compared with control. Peptidase activitives were not affected by hainanmycin. Hainanmycin supplementation only inhibited the growth of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, which is one of the species of low deaminative activity. Hainanmycin supplementation also decreased (p<0.05) relative population sizes of hyper-ammonia-producing species, except for H0.1 on Clostridium aminophilum. It was concluded that dietary supplementation with hainanmycin could improve ruminal fermentation and modify protein degradation by changing population size of ammonia-producing bacteria in vitro; and the addition level of 10 mg/kg appeared to achieve the best results.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.533-540
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• 2019

Objective: This study evaluated the growth, digestibility and rumen fermentation between goats and sheep fed a fattening diet fortified with linseed oil. Methods: Twelve 3 to 4 months old male goats and sheep were randomly allocated into two dietary treatment groups in a $2(species){\times}2$ (oil levels) factorial experiment. The treatments were: i) goats fed basal diet, ii) goats fed oil-supplemented diet, iii) sheep fed basal diet, and iv) sheep fed oil-supplemented diet. Each treatment group consisted of six animals. Animals in the basal diet group were fed with 30% alfalfa hay and 70% concentrates at a rate equivalent to 4% of their body weight. For the oil treatment group, linseed oil was added at 4% level (w:w) to the concentrate portion of the basal diet. Growth performance of the animals was determined fortnightly. Digestibility study was conducted during the final week of the feeding trial before the animals were slaughtered to obtain rumen fluid for rumen fermentation characteristics study. Results: Sheep had higher (p<0.01) average daily weight gain (ADG) and better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than goats. Oil supplementation did not affect rumen fermentation in both species and improved ADG by about 29% and FCR by about 18% in both goats and sheep. The above enhancement is consistent with the higher dry matter and energy digestibility (p<0.05), as well as organic matter and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (p<0.01) in animals fed oil- supplemented diet. Sheep had higher total volatile fatty acid production and acetic acid proportion compared to goat. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that sheep performed better than goats when fed a fattening diet and oil supplementation at the inclusion rate of 4% provides a viable option to significantly enhance growth performance and FCR in fattening sheep and goats.