Ruminal Fauna in Calves Raised in Isolation from the Dams

Abstract

Acta vet. Bmo, 47, 1978: 127-135.Six Slovak Spotted calves raised in isolation form their dams were examined for the presence of rumen protozoa from birth to 29 weeks of age. Entodinia were first observed 19 weeks after the animals had been fed roughage for 8 weeks. Eremoplastron spp. and Epidinium spp. occurred from the 25th week and Eudoplodimum spp. from the 27th week after birth. In three calves left with their dams for 20 days after birth entodinia were observed as early as 13 weeks after birth and epidinia and isotricha were present from the 18th week after birth. Rumen microorganisms, protozoa, Entodiniomorpha, Holotricha.There are conflicting reports as to the time at which protozoa first appear in the rumen of calves but it is, no doubt, rather late after birth. Although they may make their appearance in the first or second week after birth, provided that ruminal pH is higher than 6.0 they were generally demonstrated from the third week after birth (Lengemann and Allen 1959). According to other reports they do not appear until calves are 8 weeks old and then only in 15 per cent of animals (Latteur 1953), or even as late as 16 weeks after birth (Conrad et al. 1958).These discrepancies are not surprising when one reftects that the time at which protozoa possibly with the exception of ftagellates (Eadie 1962), appear in the rumen depends on contact of the calves with older, protozoa-harbouring animals (Strelkov et a1. 1933;Pounden and Hibbs 1950;Bryant et al. 1958;, Borhami et al. 1967.It is therefore conceivable that the methods of rearing particularly under intensive husbandry conditions inftuence faunation of the calves to a considerable extent. Since early establishment of ciliates in the rumen is important to the development and growth of calves, all practices that advance or delay the onset of rumen faunation, thus affecting the progress of transformation of a suckling into a ruminant, are of great importance and may have far-reaching consequences. Material and Methods AnimalsThe experimental animals were Slovak Spotted calves. They were separated from the dams immediately after birth before being licked by the cows. They were transferred first to a calf house where they were given a shower-bath, were brushed and then individually penned in cages bedded with straw. They were fed a milk diet four times a day for the first four days and three times a day for the next 15 days. At 20 days of age they were shifted to granulated alfalfa meal. At one month of age they were changed to clover hay. After being penned in cages up to 11 weeks of age, the animals were transferred to another calf house, about 200 m distant from the previous one, where they were loose-housed. One week later they were transferted to a third calf house, about 200 m distant fromthe previous one, where they were housed about twenty to a pen and fed alfalfa and clover hay ad libitum, received barley-and-maize meal three times a day and were provided with water. Afterwards they were transferted to a fourth calf house, about 800 m distant...

The cryopreservation of some large ciliate entodiniomorphid protozoa taken from the rumen

“…Furthermore, inoculations of Ophryoscolex caudatus forma tricoronatus into the defaunated rumen have been unsuccessful in this laboratory. In nature, large rumen entodiniomorphid ciliates appear in the rumen only after its colonization by small ciliates of the genus Entodinium (Bryant et al 1958 ;Eadie 1962 ;Crha and Holub 1978 ;Fonty et al 1986;Crha et al 1991), and in our experience, this method of preserving rumen ciliate monocultures is only suitable for endotinia such as Entodinium caudatum and Entodinium simplex. Deep freezing is an alternative method for the preservation of isolates of large entodiniomorphids.…”

Rumen Ciliates in Lamb Postnatal Ontogenesis

“…In calves, first ciliates were detected in the 12th to 15th day after birth (Beleiikij 1953). In calves living in contact with their dams, first ciliates occurred in week 13 while in those separated from their mothers no ciliates were found before week 19 after birth (Crha and Holub 1978). Borhami et al (1967) detected ciliates in calves as late as at 4 months of age whereas Hungate (1966) reported their occurrence within the first week of life.…”

“…The genera Entodinium and Diplodinium emerged as first (Oxford 1955), according to Bryant et al (1958) the genus Entodinium was present before the genus Diplodinium that in turn occurred earlier that the family Isotrichidae. Crha and Holub (1978) detected in calves first the species Entodinium simplex and E. bursa, followed by Epidinium ecaudatum and Isotricha prostoma.…”