A note on the use of whole, moist barley treated with ammonia as a feed supplement for sheep

Abstract

Whole, moist barley treated with ammonia (A), whole, untreated barley (WU) and ground barley (G) were fed with hay and a little high protein, mixed concentrate. Digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter and crude fibre, assessed with young adult female sheep, were highest in diet A and lowest in diet G. The digestibilities of dry matter and crude fibre were also higher in diet WU than in diet G. Digestibility coefficients for dry matter and organic matter in barley, calculated by difference, appeared higher in A and in WU than in G. Young female sheep fed on the above diets from the age of 7 to 11 months ate more hay and gained more weight on A than on G; again diet WU was intermediate. Differences also occurred between the three groups as regards volatile fatty acids in the rumen fluid. Sheep on A or WU had a higher pH in the rumen fluid than those on G. Finally, sheep on A gave birth to more offspring than those on WU or G. All these differences were significant.

The effects of grain treatment, grain feed level and grass silage feed value on the performance of and meat quality from, finishing beef cattle

“…While rumen fermentation patterns were not determined in the current study, Laksesvela (1981) reported lower concentrations of total VFAs in the rumen indicative of reduced ruminal grain degradation when ammoniated barley or whole barley was offered to sheep relative to ground barley. Furthermore, in the current study the increased forage intake occurred at the higher level of Table 6 Effects of grain treatment and feed level, and silage feed value on diet digestibility, nitrogen retention and grain egestion Mean values within a row having a different superscript letters differ (P , 0.05).…”

“…The reduction in grain digestion due to urea treatment probably altered rumen fermentation patterns consequently increasing feed intake. Laksesvela (1981) concluded that relative to ground barley, moist barley treated with ammonia and whole untreated barley increased rumen pH and decreased the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen.…”

Effect of ammoniation on the preservation and feeding value of barley grain for growing-finishing cattle

“…1) For personal use only. (Montgomery et al 1980;Laksesvela 1981;Phillip et al 1985;Aosov and Kapustin 1986;Mathison et al 1989a). Also, Robinson and Kennelly (1989) have reported increased milk production when ammoniated barley was fed.…”

The Effects of Barley Processing on Nutrient Digestion Within the Gastrointestinal Tract of Beef Cattle Fed Mixed Diets

“…Rode et al (1986) reported similar observations in cattle, but ammoniation of high-moisture barley improved nutrient digestion by lambs (Laksesvela 1981) and cattle (Williams et al 1983) in comparison to diets containing physically processed barleys.…”

“…Digestion of CC was higher (P < 0.05) by steers fed rolled barley whereas digestion of NDF (Table 2) and ADF (Mandell 1986 (Laksesvela and Slagsvold 1980;Laksesvela 1981;Rode et al 1986). …”