• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.343-350
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• 2015

Cocoa pod is among the by-products of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) plantations. The aim of this study was to apply a number of treatments in order to improve nutritional quality of cocoa pod for feeding of ruminants. Cocoa pod was subjected to different treatments, i.e. C (cocoa pod without any treatment or control), CAm (cocoa pod+1.5% urea), CMo (cocoa pod+3% molasses), CRu (cocoa pod+3% rumen content) and CPh (cocoa pod+3% molasses+Phanerochaete chrysosporium inoculum). Analysis of proximate and Van Soest's fiber fraction were performed on the respective treatments. The pods were then subjected to an in vitro digestibility evaluation by incubation in rumen fluid-buffer medium, employing a randomized complete block design (n = 3 replicates). Further, an in vivo evaluation of the pods (35% inclusion level in total mixed ration) was conducted by feeding to young Holstein steers (average body weight of $145{\pm}3.6kg$) with a $5{\times}5$ latin square design arrangement (n = 5 replicates). Each experimental period lasted for 30 d; the first 20 d was for feed adaptation, the next 3 d was for sampling of rumen liquid, and the last 7 d was for measurements of digestibility and N balance. Results revealed that lignin content was reduced significantly when cocoa pod was treated with urea, molasses, rumen content or P. chrysosporium (p<0.01) with the following order of effectiveness: CPh>CAm>CRu>CMo. Among all treatments, CAm and CPh treatments significantly improved the in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility (p<0.05) of cocoa pod. Average daily gain of steers receiving CAm or CPh treatment was significantly higher than that of control (p<0.01) with an increase of 105% and 92%, respectively. Such higher daily gain was concomitant with higher N retention and proportion of N retention to N intake in CAm and CPh treatments than those of control (p<0.05). It can be concluded from this study that treatment with either urea or P. chrysosporium is effective in improving the nutritive value of cocoa pod.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1711-1717
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• 2011

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of glutathione (GSH) on health, solid feed consumption, nutrient intake, body weight gain (BWG), feed efficiency, blood metabolites and the occurrence of diarrhea in Holstein neonatal calves. The calves were fed plain milk as a control (CON) or milk with GSH supplementation. Sixteen calves were separated from their mothers immediately after birth, moved into individual cages and fed colostrum for the first three days. For GSH supplementation, three grams of GSH powder were mixed in 1.8 L of heat-treated milk and placed in a plastic bottle with a rubber nipple. The calves were fed GSH-supplemented milk only once out of four daily feedings. For the first 25 d, calves were fed 1.8 L of milk four times per day. Milk feeding frequency was reduced to three times per day from days 26 to 30, followed by twice a day from days 31 to 44, and once a day from days 45 to 49, after which they were weaned at day 50. Body weight gain (BWG), feed consumption, and growth performance were monitored until day 70. The dietary supplementation of GSH had no effect on daily feed intake and growth performance in growing calves. Hematological results revealed red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was lower, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was significantly higher in calves fed GSH. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations were lower in calves fed GSH. Rectal temperature at day 70 was higher in calves that did not receive GSH, while mean frequency of diarrhea and enteritis was less in calves fed GSH. It is concluded from the present study that BW gain, total dry matter intake (DMI), feed efficiency, and breathing rate did not differ between groups. However, there were some positive blood parameters and the mean frequency of diarrhea and enteritis was less in calves fed GSH compared to CON which did not receive GSH. With the results obtained, supplementation of GSH is highly recommended.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.770-777
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to determine early hereditary endowment to establish a short-term feeding program. Methods: Hanwoo steers (n = 140) were equally distributed into four groups (35/group) based on genetic meat yield index (MYI) viz. the greatest, great, low, and the lowest at Jukam Hanwoo farm, Goheung. All animals were fed in group pens (5 animals/pen) with similar feed depending on the growth stage. Rice straw was provided ad libitum, whereas concentrate was fed at 5.71 kg during the growing period (6 to 13 mo) and 9.4 kg during the fattening period (13 to 28 mo). Body weight (BW) was measured at two-month intervals, whereas carcass weight was determined at slaughtering at about 31 months of age. The Affymetrix Bovine Axiom Array 640K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip was used to determine the meat quantity-related gene in the blood. Results: After 6 months, the highest (p<0.05) BW was observed in the greatest MYI group (190.77 kg) and the lowest (p<0.05) in the lowest MYI group (173.51 kg). The great MYI group also showed significantly (p<0.05) higher BW than the lowest MYI group. After 16 and 24 months, the greatest MYI group had the highest BW gain (p<0.05) and were therefore slaughtered the earliest. Carcass weight was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the greatest and the great MYI groups followed by the low and the lowest MYI groups. Back-fat thickness in the greatest MYI group was highly correlated to carcass weight and marbling score. The SNP array analysis identified the carcass-weight related gene BTB-01280026 with an additive effect. The steers with the allele increasing carcass weight had heavier slaughter weight of about 12 kg. Conclusion: Genetic MYI is a potential tool for calf selection, which will reduce the slaughter age while simultaneously increasing carcass weight, back-fat thickness, and marbling score.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.7
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• 2016

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding Korean rice wine residue (RWR) in total mixed ration (TMR) on in vitro ruminal fermentation and growth performance of growing Hanwoo steers. Methods: For in vitro fermentation, the experimental treatments were Control (Con: 0 % RWR + TMR), Treatment 1 (T1: 10 % RWR + TMR), and Treatment 2 (T2: 15 % RWR + TMR). The rumen fluid was collected from three Hanwoo steers and mixed with buffer solution, after which buffered rumen fluid was transferred into serum bottles containing 2 g dry matter (DM) of TMR added with or without RWR. The samples were then incubated for 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, or 48 h at $39^{\circ}C$ and 100 rpm. For the in vivo experiment, 27 Hanwoo steers (6 months old) with an average weight of $196{\pm}8.66kg$ were subjected to a 24-week feeding trial. The animals were randomly selected and equally distributed into three groups. After which the body weight, feed intake and blood characteristics of each group were investigated. Results: The pH of the treatments decreased significantly relative to the control during the 12 h of incubation. Total gas production and ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3-N$) was not affected by RWR addition. The total volatile fatty acid (VFA) was lower after 24 h of incubation but at other incubation times, the concentration was not affected by treatments. Feed cost was 8 % and 15 % lower in T1 and T2 compared to control. Blood alcohol was not detected and a significant increase in total weight gain and average daily gain were observed in Hanwoo steers fed with RWR. Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study suggest that TMR amended with 15 % RWR can be used as an alternative feed resource for ruminants to reduce feed cost.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.356-364
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• 2009

The current ruminant feeding models require parameterization of the digestion kinetics of carbohydrate fractions in feed ingredients to estimate the supply of nutrients from a ration. Using an automated gas production technique, statistically welldefined digestion rate of carbohydrate, including soluble carbohydrate, can be estimated in a relatively easy way. In this study, the gas production during in vitro fermentation was measured and recorded by an automated gas production system to investigate degradation kinetics of carbohydrate fractions of a wide range of ruminant feeds: corn silage, rice straw, corn, soybean hull, soybean meal, and cell mass from lysine production (CMLP). The gas production from un-fractionated, ethanol insoluble residue and neutral detergent insoluble residue of the feed samples were obtained. The gas profiles of carbohydrate fractions on the basis of the carbohydrate scheme of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (A, B1, B2, B3 and C) were generated using a subtraction approach. After the gas profiles were plotted with time, a curve was fitted with a single-pool exponential equation with a discrete lag to obtain kinetic parameters that can be used as inputs for modern nutritional models. The fractional degradation rate constants (Kd) of corn silage were 11.6, 25.7, 14.8 and 0.8%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2 fractions, respectively. The values were statistically well estimated, assessed by high t-value (>12.9). The Kd of carbohydrate fractions in rice straw were 4.8, 21.1, 5.7 and 0.5%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2 fractions, respectively. Although the Kd of B2 fraction was poorly defined with a t-value of 4.4, the Kd of the other fractions showed tvalues higher than 21.9. The un-fractioned corn showed the highest Kd (18.2%/h) among the feeds tested, and the Kd of A plus B1 fraction was 18.7%/h. Soybean hull had a Kd of 6.0, 29.0, 3.8 and 13.8%/h for un-fractioned, A, B1 and B2, respectively. The large Kd of fraction B2 indicated that NDF in soybean hull was easily degradable. The t-values were higher than 20 except for the B1 fraction (5.7). The estimated Kd of soybean meal was 9.6, 24.3, 5.0%/h for un-fractioned, A and B1 fractions, respectively. A small amount of gas (5.6 ml at 48 ho of incubation) was produced from fermentation of CMLP which contained little carbohydrate. In summary, the automated gas production system was satisfactory for the estimation of well defined (t-value >12) kinetic parameters and Kd of soluble carbohydrate fractions of various feedstuffs that supply mainly carbohydrate. The subtraction approach, however, should be applied with caution for some concentrates, especially those which contain a high level of crude protein since nitrogen-containing compounds can interfere with gas production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1657-1667
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• 2010

Direct-fed microbials (DFM) are dietary supplements that inhibit gastrointestinal infection and provide optimally regulated microbial environments in the digestive tract. As the use of antibiotics in ruminant feeds has been banned, DFM have been emphasized as antimicrobial replacements. Microorganisms that are used in DFM for ruminants may be classified as lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB), lactic acid utilizing bacteria (LUB), or other microorganisms including species of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Bacillus and Propionibacterium, strains of Megasphaera elsdenii and Prevotella bryantii and yeast products containing Saccharomyces and Aspergillus. LAB may have beneficial effects in the intestinal tract and rumen. Both LAB and LUB potentially moderate rumen conditions and improve feed efficiency. Yeast DFM may reduce harmful oxygen, prevent excess lactate production, increase feed digestibility, and improve fermentation in the rumen. DFM may also compete with and inhibit the growth of pathogens, stimulate immune function, and modulate microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract. LAB may regulate the incidence of diarrhea, and improve weight gain and feed efficiency. LUB improved weight gain in calves. DFM has been reported to improve dry matter intake, milk yield, fat corrected milk yield and milk fat content in mature animals. However, contradictory reports about the effects of DFM, dosages, feeding times and frequencies, strains of DFM, and effects on different animal conditions are available. Cultivation and preparation of ready-to-use strict anaerobes as DFM may be cost-prohibitive, and dosing methods, such as drenching, that are required for anaerobic DFM are unlikely to be acceptable as general on-farm practice. Aero-tolerant rumen microorganisms are limited to only few species, although the potential isolation and utilization of aero-tolerant ruminal strains as DFM has been reported. Spore forming bacteria are characterized by convenience of preparation and effectiveness of DFM delivery to target organs and therefore have been proposed as DFM strains. Recent studies have supported the positive effects of DFM on ruminant performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.303-321
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• 2011

The availability and efficient use of the feed resources in Asia are the primary drivers of performance to maximise productivity from animals. Feed security is fundamental to the management, extent of use, conservation and intensification for productivity enhancement. The awesome reality is that current supplies of animal proteins are inadequate to meet human requirements in the face of rapidly depleting resources: arable land, water, fossil fuels, nitrogenous and other fertilisers, and decreased supplies of cereal grains. The contribution of the ruminant sector lags well behind that of non-ruminant pigs and poultry. It is compelling therefore to shift priority for the development of ruminants (buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep) in key agro-ecological zones (AEZs), making intensive use of the available biomass from the forage resources, crop residues, agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) and other non-conventional feed resources (NCFR). Definitions are given of successful and failed projects on feed resource use. These were used to analyse 12 case studies, which indicated the value of strong participatory efforts with farmers, empowerment, and the benefits from animals of productivity-enhancing technologies and integrated natural resource management (NRM). However, wider replication and scaling up were inadequate in project formulation, including systems methodologies that promoted technology adoption. There was overwhelming emphasis on component technology applications that were duplicated across countries, often wasteful, the results and relevance of which were not clear. Technology delivery via the traditional model of research-extension linkage was also inadequate, and needs to be expanded to participatory research-extension-farmer linkages to accelerate diffusion of technologies, wider adoption and impacts. Other major limitations concerned with feed resource use are failure to view this issue from a farming systems perspective, strong disciplinary bias, and poor links to real farm situations. It is suggested that improved efficiency in feed resource use and increased productivity from animals in the future needs to be cognisant of nine strategies. These include priorities for feed resource use; promoting intensive use of crop residues; intensification of integrated ruminant-oil palm systems and use of oil palm by-products; priority for urgent, wider technology application, adoption and scaling up; rigorous application of systems methodologies; development of adaptation and mitigation options for the effects of climate change on feed resources; strengthening research-extension-farmer linkages; development of year round feeding systems; and striving for sustainability of integrated farming systems. These strategies together form the challenges for the future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.1054-1060
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• 2017

Objective: This study was aimed at evaluating effects of cattle breed resources and alternative mixed-feeding practices on meat productivity and emission intensities from household farming systems (HFS) in Daklak Province, Vietnam. Methods: Records from Local $Yellow{\time}Red$ Sindhi (Bos indicus; Lai Sind) and 1/2 Limousin, 1/2 Drought Master, and 1/2 Red Angus cattle during the growth (0 to 21 months) and fattening (22 to 25 months) periods were used to better understand variations on meat productivity and enteric methane emissions. Parameters were determined by the ruminant model. Four scenarios were developed: (HFS1) grazing from birth to slaughter on native grasses for approximately 10 h plus 1.5 kg dry matter/d (0.8% live weight [LW]) of a mixture of guinea grass (19%), cassava (43%) powder, cotton (23%) seed, and rice (15%) straw; (HFS2) growth period fed with elephant grass (1% of LW) plus supplementation (1.5% of LW) of rice bran (36%), maize (33%), and cassava (31%) meals; and HFS3 and HFS4 computed elephant grass, but concentrate supplementation reaching 2% and 1% of LW, respectively. Results: Results show that compared to HFS1, emissions ($72.3{\pm}0.96kg\;CH_4/animal/life$; least squares $means{\pm}standard$ error of the mean) were 15%, 6%, and 23% lower (p<0.01) for the HFS2, HFS3, and HFS4, respectively. The predicted methane efficiencies ($CO_2eq$) per kg of LW at slaughter ($4.3{\pm}0.15$), carcass weight ($8.8{\pm}0.25kg$) and kg of edible protein ($44.1{\pm}1.29$) were also lower (p<0.05) in the HFS4. In particular, irrespective of the HSF, feed supply and ratio changes had a more positive impact on emission intensities when crossbred 1/2 Red Angus cattle were fed than in their crossbred counterparts. Conclusion: Modest improvements on feeding practices and integrated modelling frameworks may offer potential trade-offs to respond to climate change in Vietnam.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1389-1394
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• 2012

Sheanut cake (SNC), expeller (SNE) and solvent extractions (SNSE) samples were evaluated to determine their suitability in animal feeding. The CP content was highest in SNSE (16.2%) followed by SNE (14.7%) and SNC (11.6%). However, metabolizable energy (ME, MJ/kg) was maximum in SNC (8.2) followed by SNE (7.9) and SNSE (7.0). The tannin phenol content was about 7.0 per cent and mostly in the form of hydrolyzable tannin (HT), whereas condensed tannin (CT) was less than one per cent. The in vitro gas production profiles indicated similar y max (maximum potential of gas production) among the 3 by-products. However, the rate of degradation (k) was maximum in SNC followed by SNE and SNSE. The $t^{1/2}$ (time taken for reaching half asymptote) was lowest in SNC (14.4 h) followed by SNE (18.7 h) and SNSE (21.9 h). The increment in the in vitro gas volume (ml/200 mg DM) with PEG (polyethylene glycol)-6000 (as a tannin binder) addition was 12.0 in SNC, 9.6 in SNE and 11.0 in SNSE, respectively. The highest ratio of $CH_4$ (ml) reduction per ml of the total gas, an indicator of the potential of tannin, was recorded in SNE (0.482) followed by SNC (0.301) and SNSE (0.261). There was significant (p<0.05) reduction in entodinia population and total protozoa population. Differential protozoa counts revealed that Entodinia populations increased to a greater extent than Holotricha when PEG was added. This is the first report on the antimethanogenic property of sheanut byproducts. It could be concluded that all the three forms of SN byproducts are medium source of protein and energy for ruminants. There is a great potential for SN by-products to be incorporated in ruminant feeding not only as a source of energy and protein, but also to protect the protein from rumen degradation and suppress enteric methanogenesis.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.14.1-14.9
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• 2017

Background: Garlic and its constituents are reported to have been effective in reducing methane emission and also influence glucose metabolism in body; however, studies in ruminants using garlic leaves are scarce. Garlic leaves contain similar compounds as garlic bulbs, but are discarded in field after garlic bulb harvest. We speculate that feeding garlic leaves might show similar effect as garlic constituents in sheep and could be potential animal feed supplement. Thus, we examined the effect of freeze dried garlic leaves (FDGL) on rumen fermentation, methane emission, plasma glucose kinetics and nitrogen utilization in sheep. Methods: Six sheep were fed Control diet (mixed hay and concentrate (60:40)) or FDGL diet (Control diet supplemented with FDGL at 2.5 g/kg $BW^{0.75}$ of sheep) using a crossover design. Methane gas emission was measured using open-circuit respiratory chamber. Plasma glucose turnover rate was measured using isotope dilution technique of [$U-^{13}C$]glucose. Rumen fluid, feces and urine were collected to measure rumen fermentation characteristics and nitrogen utilization. Result: No significant difference in rumen fermentation parameters was noticed except for rumen ammonia tended to be higher (0.05 < P < 0.1) in FDGL diet. Methane emission per kg dry matter ingested and methane emission per kg dry matter digested were lower (P < 0.05) in FDGL diet. Plasma glucose concentration was similar between diets and plasma glucose turnover rate tended to be higher in FDGL diet (0.05 < P < 0.1). Nitrogen retention was higher (P < 0.05) and microbial nitrogen supply tended to be higher (0.05 < P < 0.1) in FDGL diet. Conclusion: FDGL diet did not impair rumen fermentation, improved nitrogen retention; while absence of significant results in reduction of methane emission, glucose turnover rate and microbial nitrogen supply, further studies at higher dose would be necessary to conclude the merit of FDGL as supplement in ruminant feedstuff.