Effects of elevated moisture content of total mixed ration on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, microbial enzyme activity and growth performance in fattening lambs

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article (Regular Paper)

Authors

1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

2 Animal Science Research Department, Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of increased water content in the total mixed ration (TMR) on feed intake, apparent nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, microbial enzyme activity, blood metabolites, performance and feeding behavior in fattening lambs. Twenty-eight fat-tailed Lori-Bakhtiari male lambs [120±6.5 d of age; 33.4±2.24 kg body weight (BW)] were randomly assigned to four experimental diets containing 10% [control], 20%, 30% and 40% moisture content. Increased moisture content of TMR up to 30%, increased the intake of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and non-fiber carbohydrates, total weight gain and average daily gain [linearly (L), P<0.05] while acid detergent fiber (ADF) intake, final BW and feed conversion ratio remained consistent across the experimental diets (P>0.05). Increasing the moisture content of TMR up to 30% linearly increased the digestibility of DM, OM and CP and increased ruminal NH­­3-N, total volatile fatty acid content, molar proportion of propionate and activities of CMCase and ɑ-amylase (L, P<0.05) while NDF and ADF digestibility, individual VFA contents and selected blood metabolites were unchanged (P>0.05). Feeding-related behaviors were unaffected, but rumination and chewing times increased linearly (L, P<0.05). Overall, increasing the water content of the TMR diet by adding water increased the feed intake and digestibility and improved the ruminal condition and growth performance in finishing lambs.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Agarwal, N., 2000. Estimation of fiber degrading enzyme. In: Chaudhary, L.C., Agarwal, N., Kamra, D., Agarwal, D.K., (Eds.), Feed Microbiology. CAS Animal Nutrition, IVRI, Izatnagar, India, pp. 278-291.
AOAC, 2004. Official Methods of Analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, (20th ed.). Arlington VA, USA.
Arjmand, M., Kiani, A., Azizi, A., Fadayifar, A., Azarfar, A., Ponnampalam, E.N., 2022. Effects of dietary concentrate level and feeding length on nutrient digestibility, rumen hydrolytic enzymes activity, intermediary metabolites, and feeding behavior in growing fat-tailed lambs: Iranian feedlot system. Small Ruminant Research 217, 106832.
Arzola-Álvarez, C., Bocanegra-Viezca, J.A., Murphy, M.R., Salinas-Chavira, J., Corral-Luna, A., Romanos, A., Ruíz-Barrera, O., Rodríguez-Muela, C., 2010. Particle size distribution and chemical composition of total mixed rations for dairy cattle: Water addition and feed sampling effects. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 4180-4188.
Barham, D., Trinder, P., 1972. An improved colour reagent for the determination of blood glucose by the oxidase system. Analyst 97, 142-145.
Beauchemin, K.A., 1991. Effects of dietary neutral detergent fiber concentration and alfalfa hay quality on chewing, rumen function, and milk production of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Sciencs 74, 3140-3151.
Beiranvand, H., Khani, M., Ahmadi, F., Omidi-Mirzaei, H., Ariana, M., Bayat, A.R., 2018. Does adding water to a dry starter diet improve calf performance during winter? Animal 13, 959-967.
Beiranvand, H., Khani, M., Omidian, S., Ariana, M., Rezvani, R., Ghaffari, M.H., 2016. Does adding water to dry calf starter improve performance during summer? Journal of Dairy Science 99, 1-9.
Broderick, G., Kang, J.H., 1980. Automated simultaneous determination of ammonia and total amino acids in ruminal fluid and in vitro media. Journal of Dairy Science 63, 64-75.
Chen, Y., Oba, M., Guan, L.L., 2012. Variation of bacterial communities and expression of Toll-like receptor genes in the rumen of steers differing in susceptibility to subacute ruminal acidosis. Veterinary Microbiology 159, 451-459.
DeVries, T.J., Gill, R.M., 2012. Adding liquid feed to a total mixed ration reduces feed sorting behavior and improves productivity of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 2648-2655.
Dijkstra, J., Boer, H., Van Bruchem, J., Bruining, M., Tamminga, S., 1993. Absorption of volatile fatty acids from the rumen of lactating dairy cows as influenced by volatile fatty acid concentration, pH and rumen liquid volume. British Journal of Nutrition 69, 385-396.
FASS. 2010. Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching. 3rd ed., Fed. Anim. Sci. Soc., Champaign, IL.
Felton, C.A., DeVries, T.J., 2010. Effect of water addition to a total mixed ration on feed temperature, feed intake, sorting behavior, and milk production of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 2651-2660.
Fish, J.A., DeVries, T.J., 2012. Varying dietary dry matter concentration through water addition: Effect on nutrient intake and sorting of dairy cows in late lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 850-855.
Ghasemi Nejad, J., Kim, B.W., Lee, B.H., Kim, J.Y., Sung, K.L., 2017. Effects of water addition to total mixed ration on water intake, nutrient digestibility, wool cortisol and blood indices in Corridale ewes. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 30(10), 1435-1441.
Gudla, P., Abu Ghazaleh, A.A., Ishlak, A., Jones, K., 2012. The effect of level of forage and oil supplement on biohydrogenation intermediates and bacteria in continuous cultures. Animal Feed Science and Technology 171, 108-116.
Hall, M.B., 2000. Calculation of non-structural carbohydrate content of feeds that contain non-protein nitrogen. University of Florida; Gainesville, FL, USA: pp. A-25. (Bulletin 339).
Jasmin, B.H., Boston, R.C., Modesto, R.B., Schaer, T.P., 2011. Perioperative ruminal pH changes in domestic sheep (Ovis aries) housed in a biomedical research setting. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal 50(1), 27-32.
Johnson, A.M., Rohlfs, E.M., Silverman, L.M., 1999. Proteins. In: Burtis, C.A., Ashwood, E.R., (Eds.), Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry, 3rd ed. W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia.
Kamra, D.N., Agarwal, N., McAllister, T.A., 2010. Screening for compounds enhancing fiber degradation. In: Vercoe, P.E., Makkar, H.P.S., Schlink, A.C., (Eds.), In vitro screening of plant resources for extra-nutritional attributes in ruminants, nuclear and related methodologies. IAEA, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, pp. 85-107.
Karimizadeh, E., Chaji, M., Mohammadabadi, T., 2017. Effects of physical form of diet on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, rumination, growth performance and protozoa population of finishing lambs. Animal Nutrition 3, 139-144.
Khan, M.A., Bach, A., Castells, L., Weary, D.M., Von Keyserlingk, M.A.G., 2014. Effects of particle size and moisture levels in mixed rations on the feeding behavior of dairy heifers. Animal 8(10), 1722-1727.
Kim, Y.H., Nagata, R., Ohkubo, A., Ohtani, N., Kushibiki, S., Ichijo, T., Sato, S., 2018. Changes in ruminal and reticular pH and bacterial communities in Holstein cattle fed a high-grain diet. BMC Veterinary Research 14, 310-320.
Kononoff, P.J., Lehman, H.A., Heinrichs, A.J., 2002. Technical note- a comparison of methods used to measure eating and ruminating activity in confined dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 85, 1801-1803.
Lahr, D.A., Otterby, D.E., Johnson, D.G., Linn, J.G., Lundquist, R.G., 1983. Effects of moisture content of complete diets on feed intake and milk production by cows. Journal of Dairy Science 66, 1891-1900.
Leonardi, C., Giannico, F., Armentano, L.E., 2005. Effect of water addition on selective consumption (sorting) of dry diets by dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 1043-1049.
Mertens, D.R., 2002. Gravimetric determination of amylase-treated neutral detergent fiber in feeds using refluxing in beakers or crucibles; collaborative study. Journal of AOAC International 85, 1217-1240.
Miller, J.L., 1959. Use of dinitrosalicylic acid reagent for determination of reducing sugar. Analytical Chemistry 31, 426-428.
Miller-Cushon, E.K., DeVries, T.J., 2009. Effect of dietary dry matter concentration on the sorting behavior of lactating dairy cows fed a total mixed ration. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 3292-3298.
NRC, 2007. Nutrient Requirements of Small Ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids. National Research Council. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Nocek, J.E., Kesler, E.M., 1980. Growth and rumen characteristicsof Holstein steers fed pelleted or conventional diets. Journal of Dairy Science 63, 249-254.
Owens, F.N., Secrist, D.S., Hill, W.J., Gill, D.R., 1998. Acidosis in cattle: a review. Journal of Animal Science 76, 275-286.
Papi, N., Mostafa-Tehrani, A., Amanlou, H., Memarian, M., 2011. Effects of dietary forage-to-concentrate ratios on performance and carcass characteristics of growing fat-tailed lambs. Animal Feed Science and Technology 163(2), 93-98. 
Penner, G.B., Taniguchi, M., Guan, L.L., Beauchemin, K.A., Oba, M., 2009. Effect of dietary forage to concentrate ratio on volatile fatty acid absorption and the expression of genes related to volatile fatty acid absorption and metabolism in ruminal tissue. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 2767-2781.
 Plaizier, J.C., Danesh Mesgaran, M., Derakhshani, D., Golder, D., Khafipour, E., Kleen, J.L., Lean, I., Loor, J., Penner, G., Zebeli, Q., 2018. Review: Enhancing gastrointestinal health in dairy cows. Animal 399-418.
Robertson, J.B., Van Soest, P.J., 1981. The detergent system of analysis and its application to human foods. In: James, W.P.T., Theander, O., (Eds.), The Analysis of Dietary Fibre in Food. Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, USA, pp. 123-158.
Robinson, P.H., Burgess, P.L., McQueen, R.E., 1990. Influence of moisture content of mixed rations on feed intake and milk production of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 73, 2916-2921.
Sabertanha, E., Rouzbehan, Y., Fazaeli, H., Rezaei, J., 2012. Nutritive value of sorghum silage for sheep. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 105(6), 1034-1045.
Satter, L.D., Slyter, L.L., 1974. Effect of ammonia concentration on rumen microbial protein production in vitro. British Journal of Nutrition 32, 199-208.
Shaver, R.D., 2002. Rumen acidosis in dairy cattle: Bunk management considerations. Advanced Dairy Science and Technology 14, 241-249.
Stewart, C.S., Duncan, S.H., 1985. The effect of avoparcin on cellulolytic bacteria of the ovine rumen. Journal of General Microbiology 131, 427-435.
Sun, Y.Z., Mao, S.Y., Zhu, W.Y., 2010. Rumen chemical and bacterial changes during stepwise adaptation to a high-concentrate diet in goats. Animal 4, 210-217.
Teimouri Yansari, A., 2017. Ruminal kinetics of nutrients degradation, hydration, and functional specific gravity of three types of beet pulp. Iranian Journal of Applied Animal Sciences 7(1), 17-26.
Teimouri Yansari, A., Valizadeh, R., Naserian, A., Christensen, D.A., Yu, P., Eftekhari Shahroodi, F., 2004. Effects of alfalfa particle size and specific gravity chewing activity, digestibility and performance of Holstein dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 3912-3924.
Thomas, L., 1998. Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics. Use and assessment of clinical laboratory results. TH-Books VerlagsgesellschaftmbH, Frankfurt.
Van-Keulen, J., Young, B.A., 1977. Evaluation of acid-insoluble ash as a natural marker in ruminant digestibility studies. Journal of Animal Science 44, 282-289.
Van Soest, P.J., 1994. Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant, 2nd ed., Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Van Soest, P.J., Robertson, J.B., Lewis, B.A., 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583-3597.
Wang, L., Zhang, G., Li, Y., Zhang, Y., 2020. Effects of high forage/concentrate diet on volatile fatty acid production and the microorganisms involved in VFA production in cow rumen. Animal 10(2), 1-12.
Zitnan, R., Kuhla, S., Nurnberg, K., Schonhusen, U., Ceresankova, Z., Sommer, A., 2003. Influence of the diet on the morphology of ruminal and intestinal mucosa and on intestinal carbohydrate levels in cattle. Veterinary
Journal of Livestock Science and Technologies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 29 November 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics