Effects of feeding wheat straw and middlings ensiled with whey on digestibility and growth of cattle

Abstract

. 2005. Effects of feeding wheat straw and middlings ensiled with whey on digestibility and growth of cattle. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 85: 69-74. Two studies were conducted with the objective of evaluating the effects of feeding different levels of whey ensiled with wheat straw and wheat middlings (whey silage) compared to control diets on production parameters in growing cattle. Whey silage was included in diets at 55 and 65.5% on a dry matter basis with net energy for maintenance and crude protein calculated to be similar to control diets containing a combination of alfalfa hay, corn silage and wheat middlings at 1.74 Mcal kg -1 and 13.4%, respectively. Dry matter intake averaged 8.41 versus 8.91 kg d -1 (P < 0.05) and 8.68 versus 7.09 kg d -1 (P < 0.05) when whey silage was included at either 55 or 65.5% of the diets compared to the control diets. Average daily gains of cattle fed whey silage incorporated at 55% was 1.00 versus 1.14 kg d -1 (P < 0.05), and reflected the difference in dry matter intake; no differences (P > 0.05) in feed efficiency (8.73:1 versus 8.71:1) were observed. However, the higher dry matter intake (DMI) of cattle fed diets with whey silage incorporated at 65.5% did not (P > 0.05) translate into higher average daily gain (1.23 versus 1.18 kg d -1 ), resulting in a higher (P < 0.05) feed to gain (7.00:1 versus 6.01:1) for the whey-based silage diets. Incorporation of whey silage in diets at 55% increased (P > 0.05) the dry matter digestibility by 12%, whereas incorporation at 65.5% decreased (P < 0.05) dry matter digestibility by 12% compared to control diets, with no differences (P > 0.05) in percent neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) at either level. We conclude that whey silage can be included at between 55 and 65.5% of the total dry matter in diets with no adverse effects on production compared to cattle fed diets containing a combination of alfalfa hay, corn silage and wheat middlings. Key words:Agricultural by products, crop residues, digestibility, growing cattle, production, whey silage ZoBell, D. R., Okine, E. K., Olson, K. C., Wiedmeier, R. D., Goonewardene, L. A. et Stonecipher, C. 2005. Digestibilité de la paille et du gru blanc de blé ensilés avec du lactosérum et incidence sur la croissance des bovins. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 85: 69-74. Les auteurs ont effectué deux études afin d'évaluer les effets d'une quantité variable de lactosérum ensilé avec de la paille et du gru blanc de blé (ensilage de lactosérum) sur les paramètres de production de bovins en croissance, comparativement à ceux nourris avec une ration témoin. L'ensilage a été ajouté à la ration à raison de 55 ou de 65,5 % de la quantité de matière sèche, avec ajustement de l'énergie nette essentielle et des protéines brutes pour qu'elles soient identiques à celles de la ration témoin faite de foin de luzerne, d'ensilage de maïs et de gru blanc de blé (1,74 Mcal par kg et 13,4 %, respectivement). L'ingestion de matière sèche s'établissait en moyenne à 8,41 kg par jour contre 8,91 (P < 0,05) et à 8,68 kg par jour cont...

Performance and carcass measurements of ewe lambs reared in a feedlot and fed wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) middlings total mixed rations in the summer season

“…In our study, the digestibility of NDF and ADF increased significantly in WM diet compared with the other dietary treatments (P= 0.035 and P=0.035, respectively); consequently, also hemicellulose and cellulose digestibilites were higher in rams fed WM diet (P=0.041 and P=0.044, respectively). The present results are in agreement with ZoBell et al (2005) who reported a positive digestive trend, even if not significant, of DM and ADF digestibility in cattle fed 50% of WM in diet. Previous trials have reported that dietary WM in finishing steers and dairy cows led to a decrease of the digestibility of fibre components as WM level increased (Dalke et al 1997;Soares et al 2004).…”

“…In a study, Cromwell et al (2000) recognized a greater variation in nutrients in grain Control, diet containing corn as the main grain source in total mixed ration; WM, diet containing wheat middlings as the main grain source in total mixed ration SEM standard error of mean (n=4 for each treatment) by-products than in feed grains and suggested more vigorous feed testing when by-products are used to ensure that ruminants are fed to satisfy nutrient requirements. In addition, the dissimilarity in results on feeding WM could be partly attributable to the differences in the digestibility of TMR diets when combinations of corn grain and forage, such as oat or barley hay, were fed along with WM and due to the variability in the nutrients in WM, as previously found also by ZoBell et al (2005) in growing beef cattle. The carcass characteristics and body measurements were similar between the two ewe lamb groups (Table 4).…”

“…However, ZoBell et al (2005) evaluated the performance of growing heifers and steers fed WM in high-concentrate diets. Coetzer et al (1999) studied the effects of supplementing limit-fed WM-based diets with Control, diet containing corn as the main grain source in total mixed ration; WM, diet containing wheat middlings as the main grain source in total mixed ration FCR feed conversion ratio, SEM pooled standard error of mean (n=20 for each treatment) either soybean meal or non-enzymatically browned soybean meal on growing steer performance.…”

“…In fact, wheat production is mainly concentrated in Southern Europe and Northern Africa, which have the highest durum wheat production (Tufarelli and Laudadio 2011), and in the last decade, wheat by-product usage has shown a steady increase with a good amount for export. Wheat middlings contain offal and approximately 13-16% crude protein, 8-9% crude fibre (Cromwell et al 2000) and highly fermentable carbohydrates, a highly digestible fibre which could potentially provide adequate gain without the management problems associated with high-starch grain diets for growing or fattening ruminants (Moore et al 2002;ZoBell et al 2005).…”

Effect of wheat middlings-based total mixed ration on milk production and composition responses of lactating dairy ewes

“…Because of the mixture of coarse and fine particles and highly fermentable carbohydrates, WM must be evenly mixed in diets (ZoBell et al, 2003). The gross nutrient profile of WM indicates that it has a feeding value similar to that of cereal grains (with the exception of high fiber), and therefore may be used either in whole or part to replace the grain component in ruminant rations (ZoBell et al, 2005). Wheat middlings have been fed to livestock species such as poultry (Laudadio and Tufarelli, 2010), swine (Kim and Lei, 2005), and dairy and beef cattle (ZoBell et al, 2005;Bargo et al, 2006).…”