"Experientia docet" - Experience is the best teacher
The replacement of maize meal with sodium hydroxide treated wheat straw in growth diets for lambs
The possible replacement of maize with NaOH-treated straw in growth diets of lambs were tested. Four diets with 43; 29; 14 and 0% maize grain and 0; 24; 48 and 72% treated straw were formulated in such a way that…
Effects of physical form and alkali treatment of maize grain supplements on hay intake and utilization by steers
It has often been proposed that the physical form of the grain supplement could affect the intake and utilization of forages. Suppression of forage intake i)r poor utilization appears to be a function of high fermentation rate which could be…
Sorghum grain as substitute for maize in fattening diets for beef steers
The possibility of substituting maize for sorghum grain in fattening diets was studied in a digestibility trial with wethers and a growth study with steers. ln die digestibility trial a 6 x 6 Latin square design was used with maize,…
An evaluation of high lysine maize in the diets of broilers
The feeding value of high lysine maize compared with normal yellow maize in the diets of broiler chickens was evaluated in 2 experiments using 2400 chickens in each trial. In the first experiment, although no differences in mass gain or…
Voluntary intake of hay and silage: The role of intake related rumen characteristics
Experiments were conducted to examine the difference in intake between hay and silage made from lucerne (Medicago sativa) and whether these differences could be accounted for in terms of physical rumen characteristics. Voluntary intake was lowest on lucerne hay ensiled…
Influence of roughages on rumen retention time of concentrates
The effect of roughages on the retention time of concentrates in the rumen was studied in cattle and sheep fed diets with different concentrate:roughage ratios. The organic matter retention times were calculated from the ratio, OM content in the rumen/mean…
An enzymatic approach to cell wall structure
Ruminococcus albus was incubated with isolated alfalfa cell wall material for 72 h in batch culture. Cellulose in the cell walls was digested to a somewhat greater extent (88%) than were the fermentable sugars of the hemicellulose fraction (62 -…
Processing ruminal ingesta to release bacteria attached to feed particles
A comparison was made of different methods of processing ingesta to release bacteria attached to solid particles, prior to making viable counts. Initially processing was performed under a stream of anaerobic gas and counts were made using the roll tube…
Media lacking rumen fluid for enumeration of rumen bacteria
A medium without rumen fluid but containing trypticase, hemin and volatile fatty acids was developed for the enumeration of rumen bacteria. Counts of total culturable and amylolytic bacteria were as high or higher than those obtained using medium CC (Zeigler-Leedle…
Nutritionally fastidious Ruminococcus flavefaciens strains
The majority of Ruminococcus flavefaciens strains isolated in our laboratories failed to grow or grew poorly both in rumen fluid medium and in a chemically defined medium containing all the nutrients reported to be required for good growth of this…
Bacterial flora, protozoal fauna and volatile fatty acids in the rumen of the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in tropical Asia
The composition of the ruminal flora and the VFA concentration were surveyed in the water buffalo found in tropical Asia. The results showed that the average concentration of VFA in rumen contents was 57 mM and the number of bacteria…
Distribution of urease producing bacteria in the rabbit caecum
The distribution of urease-producing bacteria was examined in lumenal and mucosal-associated populations of the rabbit caecum. The total number of bacteria recovered on a nonspecific, semi-defined medium were 1,7 x 109 per g from lumen contents and 2,0 x 105…
Rumen fungal degradation of Digitaria pentzii
The intake of Digitaria pentzii grown with sulphur fertilizer (0,14%; + S) was almost 50% higher than that of unfertilized forage (0,08%; - S). Results showed no differences in plant anatomy or in rumen bacterial populations in sheep fed +…
Colorimetric determination of in vitro feed protein degradation
A colorimetric method for determining protein degradation using a diazonium chromophore was compared with the Dacron bag technique. Diazotized fish meal, maize gluten meal and soya-bean were incubated with strained rumen fluid and a suitable growth medium. Only 49% and…
