Nutrients and Feed Additives in Ruminants

A special issue of Ruminants (ISSN 2673-933X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 1923

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Interests: feed additives; feed evaluation; exogenous enzymes; greenhouse gas emissions; gut health and function; integrated crop-livestock systems; nutraceuticals; rumen fermentation; rumen microbiome; ruminants; metabolomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Interests: feed additives; feed evaluation; exogenous enzymes; greenhouse gas emissions; gut health and function; plant nutraceuticals; rumen fermentation; rumen microbiome; ruminants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ruminant production plays a critical role in food security worldwide. Sufficient levels of nutrients are necessary to meet requirements for maintenance, growth and lactation and thus guarantee animal well-being and performance. Feed additives have continued to play a significant role in diverse areas of animal production. This has expanded the intensity and scope of research into additive effects on dry matter intake, feed efficiency, metabolome, immune function, and the gut health of ruminant animals. However, inconsistent results have limited the use of several feed additives, thereby necessitating further research in order to validate results of research on animal species, product activity, application rate, product composition, stage of life, mode and time of delivery, ruminal activity, compound stability, and product–feed specificity.

This Issue will focus on research that can provide solutions to current and emerging challenges in the development of novel feed additives around the world. 

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Animals.

Dr. Uchenna Y. Anele
Dr. Lydia K. Olagunju
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Ruminants is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cattle
  • feed additives
  • feed evaluation
  • goat
  • greenhouse gases
  • gut health
  • nutrient metabolism
  • sheep
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1464 KiB  
Article
Effect of Dietary Hempseed Meal on Growth Performance, Feed Efficiency and Blood Parameters in Yearling Rough Stock Bulls
by Samantha L. McGovern, Jeff A. Brady, Cheyenne L. Runyan, Thomas W. Schwertner, Kimberly A. Guay, Lane A. Smith, Ryon W. Springer and Kimberly B. Wellmann
Ruminants 2024, 4(3), 362-374; https://doi.org/10.3390/ruminants4030026 - 1 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1306
Abstract
Yearling rough-stock bulls (n = 38) were utilized in a randomized complete block design to evaluate dietary hempseed meal (HSM) inclusion on growth (ADG), intake (DMI), and efficiency (F:G). Bulls were blocked by body weight (BW), grouped into 10 pens (n [...] Read more.
Yearling rough-stock bulls (n = 38) were utilized in a randomized complete block design to evaluate dietary hempseed meal (HSM) inclusion on growth (ADG), intake (DMI), and efficiency (F:G). Bulls were blocked by body weight (BW), grouped into 10 pens (n = 3–4 bulls/pen), and randomly assigned to an HSM or control supplement treatment (CON; 72.5% cottonseed meal, 14.5% soy hulls, 13% fat). Treatments were offered at 10%, while 90% was fed as a mixed ration [50% Bermuda grass hay, 40% textured commercial feed (10% CP)]. Diet samples were dried and DMI was calculated. F:G was evaluated using DMI and ADG. Blood for plasma analysis and BW were obtained on sample days, prior to feed delivery. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS version 9.4. The results were considered significant when p ≤ 0.050. There was no treatment × time interaction, or treatment effect for interim BW, ADG, or F:G (p ≥ 0.100). A treatment × time interaction occurred for DMI (p < 0.01), and BW (p = 0.01) increased in all bulls over time, while ADG decreased (p = 0.005), suggesting that interim live performance was not affected by HSM. Plasma urea nitrogen increased over time (p < 0.001) in all bulls, with greater concentrations observed in HSM bulls (p = 0.043). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrients and Feed Additives in Ruminants)
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