Search Results (54)

Milk production in tropical smallholder systems is constrained by limited high-quality roughage during the hot–dry season. Sweet sorghum silage is drought-tolerant and may replace corn stover silage. Twelve Holstein–Friesian crossbred cows were assigned to the same commercial concentrate plus either corn stover silage or sweet sorghum silage as the primary roughage source (n = 6 per diet). Intake, apparent digestibility, milk yield and composition, and feed-use efficiency were evaluated on day 15 and 30 and analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with cow as a random effect. Compared with corn stover silage, sweet sorghum silage increased dry matter intake (p < 0.05) and improved the digestibility of fibre fractions, including crude fibre, NDF and ADF (p ≤ 0.003), while crude protein- and nitrogen-free extract digestibility were not different (p > 0.05). Milk yield, 4% fat-corrected milk, energy-corrected milk, and feed-use efficiency indices were unaffected by silage source (p > 0.05). Milk protein concentration was higher with sweet sorghum silage (treatment effect p < 0.05), whereas milk fat and lactose were unchanged. Sweet sorghum silage can therefore replace corn stover silage in tropical dairy diets, improving intake and fibre utilization without compromising milk output. Full article

Current research is still striving to maximize the expansion of protein feed sources in order to reduce the production costs of the livestock industry. In this context, the current study aimed to evaluate the impacts of replacing soybean meal protein in diets with mulberry silage (at 50 and 100% substitution levels) on the growth, health status, and carcass characteristics of growing goat kids. Forty-five Xiangdong black goat kids weighing 18.2 ± 1.6 kg (approximately 6 months old) were divided into three experimental groups and fed one of the following diets: a control diet consisting of a 50:50 concentrate-to-roughage ratio on a dry matter basis (control), a diet replacing 50% of soybean meal protein with mulberry silage (MS-50), or a diet replacing 100% of soybean meal protein with mulberry silage (MS-100). The results show that replacing soybean meal protein with mulberry silage significantly increased (p < 0.05) the intakes of dry matter (DMI), crude protein (CPI), neutral detergent fiber (NDFI), and organic matter (OMI). However, no significant (p > 0.05) differences were observed in the digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), or neutral detergent fiber (NDF) among the groups, whereas the digestibility of OM and acid detergent fiber (ADF) was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the MS-100 group. Additionally, the MS-100 group exhibited significantly higher (p < 0.05) plasma total protein, albumin, and calcium levels. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was significantly enhanced in both the MS-50 and MS-100 groups compared to the control, although the MS-100 showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels related to the other groups. In terms of growth performance, the MS-100 group improved (p < 0.05) final body weight, average daily gain, and carcass weights. Meanwhile, the MS-50 group recorded the highest contents (p < 0.05) of the following amino acids: aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, alanine, lysine, and proline. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that replacing soybean meal protein with mulberry silage generally produced comparable impacts, with additional positive effects on growth performance, meat quality, and health status of goats. Full article

Dry matter intake (DMI) in dairy cows is a critical indicator of nutrient intake from feed, serving as the cornerstone of precision feeding practices, playing a critical role in improving production efficiency and enhancing the quality of dairy products. To address the high costs of traditional measurement methods and the structural complexity and large parameter counts of neural network models, this study proposes a Stacking ensemble learning model to assess DMI, with model parameters optimized using the Tuna Swarm Optimization (TSO) algorithm to enhance assessment accuracy, taking cow body weight, lying duration, lying times, rumination duration, foraging duration, walking steps, and the concentrate-to-roughage feed ratio as input variables. To further improve TSO’s search efficiency and spatial exploration, this study introduces Sine–Logistic chaotic mapping, Levy flight, and Gaussian random walk strategy to optimize the TSO algorithm, developing the improved Tuna Swarm Optimization (ITSO). ITSO-optimized Stacking model achieved superior performance in DMI assessment, with an accuracy of 95.84%, significantly outperforming SVR, RF, DT, GBR, ETR, and AdaBoost models. This study provides a robust tool for precision feeding, contributing to optimizing cow feeding strategies, improving farm efficiency, and supporting sustainable dairy farming practices. Full article

The present study aimed to evaluate whether the inclusion of curcumin as a performance enhancer in finishing cattle has positive effects on animal production, the ruminal environment, hematological and biochemical markers, as well as meat quality. Sixteen castrated Holstein steers, 8 months of age, with an average body weight of 247 ± 3.89 kg were divided into two groups: Control, consisting of animals that consumed 144 mg of monensin/animal/day (n = 8); Treatment, consisting of animals that consumed 552 mg of curcumin/animal/day (n = 8). Animals were fed a diet containing 44% roughage (corn silage) and 56% concentrate for 105 days. During this period, body weight measurements were recorded, and blood samples were collected for the determination of hematological, biochemical, and immunological variables. At the end of the experimental period, animals were slaughtered and meat samples were collected for evaluation. No differences were observed between groups for animal performance, feed intake, or feed efficiency. A lower leukocyte count (lymphocyte and granulocyte) and a higher platelet count were observed in animals that consumed curcumin. These animals also exhibited higher cholesterol levels, along with lower circulating glucose concentrations compared to the control group. In the ruminal environment, higher bacterial activity and greater protozoal counts were observed in the treatment group, but no effects on ruminal short-chain fatty acids were observed. Higher activity of the enzymes glutathione S-transferase in serum and superoxide dismutase in meat was observed, combined with lower lipid peroxidation in serum and meat. Meat from steers fed curcumin showed greater yellow color intensity, higher water-holding capacity, and a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids compared to the control group. These results suggest that curcumin can be used as a performance enhancer, similar to monensin, when thinking about performance, but beyond that, curcumin triggered anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action. Full article

This study evaluated the effects of including additional roughage and the timing of roughage addition on rumen temperature (T_RUM), rumen pH, dry matter intake as a percentage of live weight (DMILW), water consumption as a percentage of live weight (WILW) and average daily gain of grain-fed steers exposed to a simulated heat wave. A total of forty-eight Black Angus steers (539.53 ± 4.95 kg) were housed within climate control rooms for 21 days and exposed to a 5-day simulated heat wave. Steers were randomly allocated into four cohorts with 12 steers/cohort, and then allocated to one of three dietary treatments: Treatment 1 (T1) were fed a finisher diet for the 21 days; Treatment 2 (T2) transitioned from the finisher diet to a heat load diet on d 9 and fed the heat load diet until d 14; and Treatment 3 (T3) transitioned from the finisher diet to the heat load diet on d 7 and fed the heat load diet until d 14. On d 15, T2 and T3 transitioned back to the finisher diet. The study was categorised into five phases consisting of (i) Phase I, d 0–6 (Temperature Humidity Index, THI 65 to 78); (ii) Phase II, d 7–8 (THI 65 to 78); (iii) Phase III, d 9–11 (THI 83 to 90); (iv) Phase IV, d 12–13 (THI 78 to 85); and (v) Phase V, d 14–20 (THI 65 to 78). During the heat wave challenge in Phase III, all Treatments exhibited lower DMILW (p < 0.0001), greater T_RUM and rumen pH (p < 0.0001), lower ranges in T_RUM and rumen pH (p ≤ 0.0005) and altered diurnal T_RUM and rumen pH rhythms. Average daily gain was not influenced by Treatments (p ≥ 0.98). Overall, these results suggest that nutritional management remains an important consideration to reduce the impact of hot climatic conditions on the rumen environment during heat wave and post-heat wave conditions. Full article

A database (110 treatment means from 23 studies) was derived from the peer-reviewed literature to evaluate the effects of various measures of dietary fiber on growth performance of feedlot cattle. The measures of diet fibrousness were the percentage of traditional roughage sources in the diet, the percentage of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) supplied by traditional roughages, and the total dietary concentration of NDF. The growth performance variables evaluated were dry matter intake, average daily gain, gain–feed ratio, and hot carcass weight. Mixed-model regression methods were used to adjust for random slope and intercept effects associated with studies, and study-adjusted data were evaluated to assess the effects of each of the measures of fibrousness on each of the measures of growth performance. The quality of the regression relationships was assessed by determining the significance of slope and intercept estimates, the root mean square error and the associated coefficient of variation, and the coefficient of determination (r²). In contrast to a previous analysis of literature data, 60% of the studies in the present database included fibrous byproducts (primarily wet corn gluten feed and wet or dry distillers grains plus solubles). Among the growth performance variables, measures of fibrousness were most highly correlated with dry matter intake (total consumed per day or percentage of average body weight), and among the measures of fibrousness, total dietary NDF concentration consistently accounted for the largest percentage of variation in growth performance variables. For dry matter intake as a percentage of body weight, total dietary NDF concentration accounted for 63.3% of the variation in dry matter intake, compared with 19.6% and 29.9% for NDF from roughage and percentage of roughage in the diet, respectively. Similarly, total dietary NDF concentration accounted for 58.1% of the variation in total dry matter consumed per day, compared with NDF from roughage (18.3%) and the dietary percentage of roughage (25.9%). For each 1% increase in total dietary NDF, dry matter intake increased by approximately 0.023% of body weight or 0.11 kg/d. Average daily gain and hot carcass weight were not strongly associated with measures of fibrousness (r² values ranged from 0.001 to 0.122), reflecting the ability of feedlot cattle to compensate for lower dietary energy concentrations as NDF increased in the diet, at least within the ranges of NDF evaluated in the current database. As expected, with increased dry matter intake and little change in average daily gain, the gain–feed ratio was negatively associated with measures of fibrousness, with an r² value of 0.296 for the total dietary NDF concentration. Although more research is needed on the role of physically effective NDF in feedlot diets, present data confirm previous observations about the relationship between the total dietary NDF concentration and dry matter intake, extending this relationship to feedlot diets that contain substantial proportions of fibrous byproducts. The total dietary NDF concentration in feedlot diets should be an effective basis for exchanging dietary ingredients to maintain a similar growth performance of feedlot cattle. Full article

This study evaluated the effects of including 0, 150, 300, 450, and 600 g/kg of dry matter (DM) of spineless cactus (SC; Nopalea cochenillifera Salm-Dyck) plus urea and ammonium sulphate (UAS) (9:1), replacing Tifton-85 hay (Cynodon spp. cv. Tifton 85), on nutrient intake and digestibility, feeding behaviour, water intake, and rumen dynamics. Five rumen-fistulated and cannulated crossbred wethers were randomly assigned in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. A roughage:concentrate ratio of 70:30 was supplied. Organic matter (OM) and metabolisable energy (ME) intakes showed quadratic responses (p < 0.05), with maximum values of 1157 g/day and 14.50 MJ/day estimated at SC+UAS levels of 364 and 410 g/kg DM, respectively. Apparent digestibilities of DM, OM, and non-fibre carbohydrates, as well as water excretion in faeces and degradation rate of DM, increased with SC+UAS inclusion (p < 0.05). Indigestible neutral detergent fibre (NDF) intake, feeding and rumination times, voluntary water intake, NDF degradation and passage rates, as well as the indigestible NDF passage rate, decreased with SC+UAS inclusion (p < 0.05). In wethers’ diets with a roughage:concentrate ratio of 70:30, a roughage combination of SC+UAS and Tifton-85 hay in a 41:29 ratio is recommended to maximise ME intake. Full article

Feeding a balanced diet such as total mixed ration (TMR) is a widely adopted feeding strategy providing a uniformly blended diet of roughages, concentrates, and supplements that enhances ruminant productivity by optimizing nutrient utilization, stabilizing rumen fermentation, and improving microbial activity. Scientific studies have confirmed that TMR increases dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, and growth performance in dairy and beef cattle, as well as in sheep and goats. TMR’s advantages include consistent feed quality, reduced selective feeding, and improved feed efficiency. A key benefit of TMR is its ability to promote the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are the primary energy source for ruminants, particularly propionate. This enhances energy metabolism, resulting in higher carcass yields, increased milk production, and economic benefits compared to conventional or supplementary feeding systems. However, TMR feeding is also susceptible to mycotoxin contamination (e.g., aflatoxins, zearalenone), potential effects on methane emissions, and the need for precise formulation to maintain consistency and optimise profitability. Prevention and good practices, including routine inspection of feed for pathogens and vulnerable ingredients, as well as careful management of particle size and forage-to-concentrate ratios, are crucial in preventing subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and the development of other subclinical diseases. Mycotoxin binders, such as hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate, can also reduce mycotoxin absorption. Another advantage of practicing TMR is that it can support sustainable farming by integrating agro-industrial byproducts, which minimises environmental impact. In conclusion, TMR is a widely adopted feeding strategy that significantly enhances ruminant productivity by optimizing nutrient utilization, stabilizing rumen fermentation, and improving microbial activity, leading to increased dry matter intake, milk yield, and growth performance. It offers key benefits such as consistent feed quality, reduced selective feeding, improved feed efficiency, and enhanced energy metabolism, providing economic advantages and supporting sustainable farming through agro-industrial byproduct integration. However, its implementation requires careful management to mitigate risks, including mycotoxin contamination, potential impacts on methane emissions, and digestive issues like SARA if formulation is not precise. Therefore, for sustainable production, future research should focus on optimizing TMR formulations with alternative ingredients (e.g., agro-industrial byproducts) and precision feeding strategies to enhance livestock health and animal productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. Full article

Understanding the influence of the sheep breed and roughage source on the composition of rumen bacteria and methanogens is essential for optimizing roughage efficiency. The experiment employed a 2 × 2 factorial design. Twenty-four Dumont and Mongolian sheep (initial body weight of 18.94 ± 1.01 kg) were randomly assigned by breed to two dietary treatment groups (AH: alfalfa hay; CS: corn straw); the experiment lasted 90 days. The results showed that sheep fed alfalfa hay diets had a higher feed intake and weight gain, and Dumont sheep had a higher feed intake than Mongolian sheep (p < 0.05). The diversity and composition of ruminal bacteria and methanogens differed between Dumont and Mongolian sheep fed either AH or CS diets. The taxonomic analysis revealed a distinct clustering pattern based on the roughage source, but not on the breed. When fed a corn straw diet, the bacterial Chao1 index of Dumont sheep increased (p < 0.05), while the diversity and richness of methanogens in Mongolian sheep increased (p < 0.05). Additionally, we have identified unique biomarkers for the rumen bacteria and methanogens of Dumont and Mongolian sheep in response to different roughage sources. The results suggest that the differences in the microbiota of the sheep were associated with the roughage source and breed. The higher growth performance of Dumont sheep might be attributed to the increase in bacterial diversity and the decrease in methanogenic bacteria diversity. Full article

Ruminal methanogenesis represents considerable energy loss within the fermentative processes mediated by microbial populations, by means of which up to 12% of gross energy intake is driven away from microbial protein synthesis (MPS). This review explores the relationship between methane (CH₄) synthesis and emission with MPS in beef cattle, focusing on the nutritional, biochemical, and microbial factors modulating these processes. The synthesis of CH₄ by ruminal archaea is essential for maintaining redox balance during the fermentation of carbohydrates. This process diverts metabolic H₂ from energy-efficient pathways like propionate synthesis, which could otherwise enhance microbial growth. Dietary factors, including carbohydrate fermentability, N synchronization, and passage rate, modulate MPS. Diets based on roughage might enhance CH₄ synthesis while impairing MPS efficiency by reducing diet digestibility and promoting microbial shifts towards methanogenic populations. Potential mitigation strategies, including plant secondary metabolites, CH₄ inhibitors, and controlled forage-to-concentrate ratios, demonstrate the potential to reduce CH₄ emissions while enhancing nutrient utilization. This review underscores the need for integrated approaches combining dietary strategies, advanced feed additives, and improved prediction models to optimize ruminal fermentation, enhance MPS, and reduce the environmental footprint of beef cattle systems. Full article

During pregnancy and lactation, maternal nutrition is linked to the full development of offspring and may have long-term or lifelong effects. However, the influence of the doe’s diet on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of young kids remains largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the effects of doe roughage sources (alfalfa hay, AH, or corn straw, CS) during pregnancy and lactation on kid growth, GI morphology, barrier function, metabolism, immunity, and microbiome composition. The results indicate that, compared with the CS group, does fed an AH diet had significantly higher feed intake (p < 0.01). However, CS-fed does exhibited higher neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in animal (doe or kid) weight among the groups (p > 0.05). In the rumen of goat kids, the AH group exhibited a higher papillae width and increased levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) compared with the CS group (p < 0.05). In the jejunum of goat kids, the AH group showed a higher villus-height-to-crypt-depth (VH/CD) ratio, as well as elevated levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), IL-10, acetate, and total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs), when compared with the CS group (p < 0.05). Transcriptome analysis revealed that the source of roughage in does was associated with changes in the GI transcriptome of the kids. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the rumen were mainly associated with tissue development and immune regulation, while the DEGs in the jejunum were mainly associated with the regulation of transferase activity. Spearman correlation analyses indicated significant associations between GI DEGs and phenotypic indicators related to GI development, immunity, and metabolism. LEfSe analysis identified 14 rumen microbial biomarkers and 6 jejunum microbial biomarkers. Notably, these microorganisms were also enriched in the rumen or day 28 milk of the does. Further microbial composition analysis revealed significant correlations between the rumen and milk microbiomes of does and the rumen or jejunum microbiomes of kids. Association analyses indicated that microbial biomarkers interact with host genes, thereby affecting the development and function of the GI system. Additionally, correlation analyses revealed significant association between milk metabolites and the rumen and jejunum microbiomes of kids. This study demonstrated that maternal diet significantly influences the development of microbial ecosystems in offspring by modulating microbial communities and metabolite composition. The early colonization of GI microorganisms is crucial for the structural development, barrier function, immune capacity, and microbial metabolic activity of the GI system. Full article

To enhance the sustainability of marginal olive and dairy farms in the Sorrento peninsula, two separate crossover trials were conducted on two farms in the area to evaluate olive pruning residue (OlPr) and olive mill leaves (OlLes) as forage sources for lactating cows. Each trial lasted six weeks and consisted of two treatment periods, each including a 15-day adaptation phase followed by a 6-day measurement phase. During the measurement phase, milk production, feed intake, and olive residue consumption were assessed for two homogeneous cow groups: one receiving a ration supplemented with olive by-products and the other receiving a control diet. The olive-supplemented groups exhibited higher dry matter intake and roughage consumption (hay + olive residue) compared to the control groups. The intake of OlLes was about 30% higher than that of OlPr. Compared to the respective control, milk from OlLe-fed cows a had higher fat content and a higher fat-to-protein ratio, a more favorable fatty acid composition in terms of higher monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid contents, a reduced atherogenic index, and a saturated-to-unsaturated ratio. Likely due to the lower level of olive by-product ingestion, only marginal differences were observed in milk fatty acid composition of cows fed OlPr compared to the control. We conclude that the use of OlLes in dairy cow diets may represent a promising strategy for improving milk quality, promoting a more circular agricultural system, reducing reliance on external feed inputs, and mitigating the environmental impact of both olive and milk production. Full article

Combining soybeans with grass or biomass maize in silage holds promise in addressing the nutritional limitations of individual crops, providing a roughage with a good energy–protein balance. This study evaluated the effects of replacing urea-treated rice straw (UTRS) with silages made from intercropped maize–soybean and Guinea grass (GG) in calf diets on feed intake and growth performance. Sixteen native Yellow calves (130.7 ± 16.1 kg live weight and 12.8 ± 2.6 months old) were used; the experiment had a randomised complete block design with four dietary treatments: Treatment 1 (70% UTRS + 30% GG); Treatment 2 (40% UTRS + 30% GG + 30% Guinea grass silage); Treatment 3 (40% UTRS + 30% GG + 30% Guinea grass–soybean silage); and Treatment 4 (40% UTRS + 30% GG + 30% maize–soybean silage). The animals were fed 0.5 kg concentrate per 100 kg live weight daily, with unlimited access to forage and clean water, for 12 weeks after a two-week adaptation. The results indicate that silages containing soybean increased total weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) and decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR); however, silage replacements had no impact on dry matter intake and body conformation, suggesting that Guinea grass–soybean or maize–soybean silage can effectively enhance the ADG and decrease the FCR of growing calves fed UTRS-based diets. Full article

In this study, our subjects were 18 female crossbred Saanen lactating goats; the goats weighed approximately 43.25 ± 2.35 kg and had been producing milk for 14 ± 2 days. They were assigned to three equally sized experimental groups based on the cycle of the lactation period. In accordance with the randomized complete block design (RCBD), six animals were randomly assigned to the treatments in each block. There were three treatments: (1) control = Napier Pakchong-1 grass silage (NPS); (2) = sweet grass silage (SGS); and (3) = purple Napier silage (PNS). Our findings show that the goats fed with purple Napier grass silage had a higher DM intake (1805.97 g/day) than those that underwent a different treatment (1312.76 and 1443.43 g/day). The goats fed with purple Napier grass silage had higher protein digestibility (79.85) than those fed with Napier Pakchong-1 and sweet grass silage. There were significant differences in the ruminal ammonia nitrogen and blood urea nitrogen. Nevertheless, purple Napier grass silage significantly increased butyric acid 2 and 4 h after feeding and increased the number of microorganisms. In the dairy goats fed purple Napier grass silage, we observed a reduction in protozoa and methanogen populations. The levels of antioxidants shown by the plasma indices differed in the goats fed with purple Napier grass silage and showed enhanced milk composition, higher levels of total antioxidants, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the plasma, reduced protozoa methanogen, and a decreased level of malondialdehyde in the plasma. This study highlights that purple Napier grass silage has the potential to be a beneficial source of roughage for lactating dairy goats. Full article

Silage is the most important component of a ruminant diet and has important production and health significance in ruminant production. The aim of the research was to investigate how the mixed silage of Chinese cabbage waste and rice straw (mixed silage) impacts the fecal microorganisms and metabolites in Hu sheep using Illumina sequencing and metabolomic analysis. A total of 16 Hu sheep (8 rams and 8 ewes) weighing about 39 kg and 5.5 months old were used as experimental sheep and divided into two groups (4 rams and 4 ewes, n = 8) using the principle of randomized trials: the control group with peanut sprouts, corn husks, and sorghum husks as roughage and the silage group with the mixed silage as roughage. There were no significant differences in the average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), or feed conversion rate (FCR) between the control group and the mixed silage groups (p > 0.05). Microbiome results showed that 15 microorganisms such as Ruminococcaceae UCG 010, Breznakia, Erysipelothrix, Desulfovibrio, Succiniclasticum, and Shuttleworthia were significantly different between the two groups. In addition, metabolomics showed that the mixed silage modulated the concentrations and metabolic pathways of metabolites in the manure. Significantly different metabolites were mainly enriched in amino acid anabolism (“glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism”, “valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis”, “arginine biosynthesis”, etc.), nucleic acid metabolism (pyrimidine metabolism). In conclusion, the addition of mixed silage to the diet of Hu sheep can alter the structure of the hindgut microflora and regulate the metabolism of amino acids and nucleotides, which affects health performance. Full article