Intake and digestion in swamp buffaloes and cattle. 3. Comparisons with four forage diets, and with rice straw supplemented with energy and protein

Abstract

S U M M A R YIntake and digestion by swamp buffaloes {Bubalus bubalis) and crossbred cattle (Bos indicus x B. taunts) of a range of diets were measured in two experiments conducted in north Queensland in 1988. In Expt 1, four animals of each species were offered rice straw ad libitum with a supplement of minerals and urea. The four dietary treatments were (i) no concentrates, (ii) cracked rice grain (900 g/day), (iii) cracked rice grain (900 g/day) plus sunflower seed meal (900 g/day) and (iv) as for (iii) but with 50 % of the sunflower seed meal treated with formaldehyde solution. In Expt 2, the same animals were offered two legumes, lablab (Lablab purpureus) and verano (Stylosanthes hamata cv. verano), and two grasses, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor x S. sudanense) and pangola grass (Digitaria eriantha). In Expt 1, voluntary intake of organic matter of buffaloes was 1-22 that of cattle. Concentrate supplementation increased organic matter digestibility and total intake, but did not affect straw intake. Intake of supplements by cattle was poor in the absence of sunflower seed meal. In Expt 2, intake and digestibility was similar in both species but was higher in animals given sorghum compared with the other forages. Total time spent chewing for both species and all diets ranged between 163 and 244 min/kg intake of plant cell wall constituents. The fractional rate of fluid flow from the reticulorumen and the concentration of propionic acid in the rumen fluid of buffaloes were consistently higher than in cattle in both experiments. Cotton and rice straw, placed in polyester bags in situ in the reticulorumen, were more extensively fermented in buffaloes than in cattle in Expt 1. In contrast, there were no differences between animal species in fermentation rates of cotton and ground diets in situ in Expt 2, but a relationship was observed between the relative fermentation of cotton and the relative digesta retention times in the reticulorumen in the two animal species. Microbial biomass, estimated as microbial dry matter per kg dry matter in the reticulorumen, was less (P < 005) in buffaloes than in cattle in Expt 1; higher concentrations of protozoa were observed in buffaloes than in cattle in Expt 2. Digesta load in the reticulorumen of buffaloes was c. 0-88 that of cattle. In Expt 1, digesta load was inversely related to digestible organic matter intake. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that energy metabolism and digesta load in the reticulorumen interact in the regulation of roughage intake, but it appeared that the lower loads measured in both species in Expt 2 indicated the operation of an unidentified limitation to intake. anc * m ' n e r a ' s ' but there was no difference in the amount of dietary protein fermented in the RR Recent studies (Kennedy et al. 1992a, b) using rice (Kennedy et al. 1992a). Additional protein in the straw and two mature grasses have revealed lower form of meat meal was also digested to a similar digestibility in swamp buffaloes than in cattle, extent in both species (Kenne...

Comparison of voluntary feed intake, rumen passage and degradation kinetics between crossbred Brahmam cattle (Bos indicus) and swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) fed a fattening diet based on corn silage

“…(1992a) questioned that methodological inadequacies might have alluded to this conclusion, and conducted a series of studies comparing the nutritive differences between buffaloes and tropical cattle fed with a series of forage diets (Kennedy et al . 1992a,b; Kennedy 1995). Kennedy et al .…”

“…(1992a,b) has reported longer rumination time, higher passage rate constants of rumen digesta, superior nitrogen recycling efficiency and intestinal microbial protein supply, lower trends for rumen degradability and fiber digestibility for buffalo compared to cattle when fed rice straw or tropical grass‐based diets. Moreover, Kearl (1982), Devendra (1983), Wanapat (1989) and Kennedy (1995) reported inconsistency results on voluntary feed consumption and digestion across cattle diversities and buffaloes. The conflicted results with digestive ability and voluntary feed intake among the studies might be mainly a result of dietary interactions and unidentified regulation mechanisms with rumen digestion.…”

Levedura ou monensina na dieta de bovinos e bubalinos sobre a fermentação ruminal e eficiência microbiana

“…Se a digestibilidade ruminal do amido em bovinos é maior que em bubalinos de acordo com Maeda et al (2007, pode gerar em menor tempo, maior disponibilidade de energia necessária para o crescimento microbiano e maior síntese de proteína microbiana, como observado. Kennedy (1995) encontraram maior proporção de massa microbiana no conteúdo total no retículo-rúmen de bovinos em comparação com bubalinos.…”

“…Pela escassez de informações, às vezes, acaba-se transferindo os conhecimentos obtidos com bovinos para os bubalinos. No entanto, isso parece ser um equivoco, haja vista que, diferenças nos processos de fermentação ruminal de bubalinos e bovinos foram relatadas (KENNEDY, 1995;CALABRO et al, 2004). Beleze et al (2007) verificaram interações entre bovinos e bubalinos, aditivos alimentar (monensina ou levedura) e a proporção de concentrado na dieta sobre a digestibilidade in vitro.…”

Rice Crop Monitoring with Unmanned Helicopter Remote Sensing Images

“…It could be measured as the total available nitrogen content in the food stuff (Kennedy, 1995). The rice was powdered and sieved before testing for total nitrogen with standard method.…”