Effects of supplement type and previous experience on variability in intake of supplements by heifers

2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 529 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Dixon ◽  
A. White ◽  
P. Fry ◽  
J. C. Petherick

Intakes, and variability in intakes, of a range of supplements were examined in groups (n = 10–20) of cattle grazing tropical native pasture in 24-ha paddocks. Intakes of supplement by individual animals were measured using lithium sulfate as a marker. In Expt 1, heifers (n = 160) were offered 1 of 4 supplements consisting of (i) a restricted amount of cottonseed meal (CSM); or ad libitum amounts of (ii) molasses containing 74 g urea/kg (M8U), (iii) a loose mineral mix (LMM) containing (g/kg) salt 390, urea 300, CSM 150, calcium phosphate 150, and sulfur 10, and (iv) feed block supplements containing (g/kg) molasses 494, urea 99, calcium phosphate 62, salt 62, bran 62, calcium oxide 148, and magnesium oxide 74. After 5 and 10 weeks the variation in supplement intake among heifers within a group was lower (P < 0.05) for CSM and M8U (coefficient of variation (CV) 24–37%) than for the LMM or block supplements (CV 55–118%). All heifers offered CSM or M8U consumed at least some supplement, but up to 5% and 20% of heifers were non-eaters of LMM or block supplement, respectively. Both the per�cent non-eaters of supplement and the variability in intake of these latter supplements tended (P < 0.10) to decline as the experiment progressed. In Expt 2 the same heifers were re-allocated to paddock groups and were offered ad libitum supplements of (i) M8U, (ii) molasses containing 107 g urea/kg (M12U), (iii) M8U mixed with monensin (M8U-M), or (iv) M8U mixed with meatmeal (M8U-MM). The CV of supplement intake ranged from 37 to 58%, and except in one paddock group offered M8U-MM, all heifers consumed at least some supplement. In Expt�3, paddock groups of heifers (n = 120) without, or with experience of LMM supplements during the previous dry season were offered LMM supplements containing either nil or 300�g CSM/kg. Voluntary intake of LMM supplement DM was increased (P < 0.001) by 93% by inclusion of CSM and decreased (P < 0.05) by 24% by previous experience of a similar LMM supplement. Neither variability in supplement intake (CV 66–150%) nor the per�cent non-eaters was significantly (P > 0.05) affected by previous experience of the heifers with LMM supplements or inclusion of CSM in the supplement. However, the per cent non-eaters of LMM supplement was inversely related to the mean voluntary intake of the supplement by the paddock group; when the average voluntary intake of the supplement by the paddock group exceeded 0.2 g DM/kg LW.day, then ≤10% of heifers were non-eaters of supplement. In conclusion, within groups of heifers offered LMM and block supplements the variability in intake and per cent non-eaters of supplement were higher than for cottonseed meal or molasses-urea supplements, and variability appeared to be associated with voluntary intake of the supplements.

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 315
Author(s):  
R. M. Dixon ◽  
A. Anderson ◽  
J. C. Petherick

Loose mineral mix (LMM) supplements based on ingredients such as salt, urea and minerals offered ad libitum are widely used to provide additional nutrients to grazing cattle, but it is often difficult to achieve target intakes. An experiment with heifers grazing mature tropical pasture examined the effects of substituting 80, 160 or 320 g/kg of the salt in a LMM supplement with cottonseed meal on the voluntary intake of the LMM supplements by paddock groups of heifers over 10 weeks. Average voluntary intake of a LMM containing (g/kg) 640 salt, 300 urea and 60 ammonium sulfate (40.2 g DM and 6.14 g total nitrogen/day) was increased linearly (P < 0.001) to 50.8 g DM and 8.88 g total nitrogen/day when up to 320 g/kg cottonseed meal was substituted for salt in the LMM. This increase in intake of nitrogen in LMM was due to the increase in voluntary intake of the supplement rather than the increased nitrogen concentration of supplement. The distribution of daily intake of supplement within paddock groups of heifers was estimated during Weeks 5 and 10 using supplements labelled with lithium sulfate. Neither the coefficient of variation within paddock groups of heifers in supplement intake (mean 96%), nor the proportion of non-consumers of supplement (mean 17%), was changed (P > 0.05) by substitution of salt with cottonseed meal. In conclusion, the inclusion of a palatable protein meal into LMM increased the voluntary intake of this type of supplement.


Rangifer ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Arne Rognmo ◽  
Karstein Bye

Two groups of 15 reindeer were used to test the palatability of two artificial diets. None of the animals had experienced the diets before. Trials were carried out from April to mid May. Each group of animals was kept in a separate corral (600 sq. meters). Both groups were fed lichens for three days befort trials began. Then they were offered a concentrate feed (RF-80) or &laquo;Mill Waste Product&raquo; (MWP) ad libitum. Both groups ate little or nothing for the first three days of the trial and so lichens were mixed with the two experimental feeds. The mean voluntary food intake of the RF-80-group increased from 0.8 Kg/day/animal to 1.8 Kg/day/animal after three weeks. A mixed feed, RF-80/lichen, was only used the first day for animals in the RF-80 group. Reindeer refused to eat MWP for twelve days despite mixing it with lichens. They were then offered RF-80 ad lib. without a mixture of lichens. The mean voluntary intake of these animals increased from 1.3 Kg RF-80/day/animal on day 13 to 2.3 Kg/day/animal by day 26. Two calves in the MWP-group got diarrhoea after refeeding with RF-80.


1969 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Leaver ◽  
R. C. Campling ◽  
W. Holmes

SUMMARY1. In the first experiment, the digestibility of diets containing ratios of 1:1 and 1:4 hay to concentrates was determined at five levels of feeding in castrated male sheep. With diet 1.1, increasing the daily dry matter intake from 600 to 1400 g resulted in a linear decline in organic matter digestibility from 74·4 to 68·6%. The same increase in level of feeding led to a curvilinear decline in the organic matter digestibility of diet 1.4 from 83·0 to 75·9%.2. In a similar way the crude fibre digestibility of the diets declined as food intake increased. Also the increase in level of feeding caused a decrease in the mean retention time of stained hay in the alimentary tract.3. In a second experiment the digestibility of long dried grass offered ad libitum to eight dry and eight lactating cows was measured and compared with the digestibility of similar dried grass offered at maintenance level and ad libitum to eight castrated male sheep.4. On a metabolic live-weight basis (kg W0·73), the lactating cows ate 34% more organic matter than the dry cows and the mean voluntary intake of sheep was only 54% of the intake of dry cows.5. The organic matter digestibility for the dry cows was 1·9 units higher than that of the lactating cows and at ad libitum intake the organic matter digestibility for the sheep was 5·6 and 3·7 units lower than that of the dry and lactating cows respectively. The results are discussed in relation to the validity of extrapolating results obtained with sheep to cattle, and with non·lactating to lactating animals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Victor Pop ◽  
Johannes Krabbe ◽  
Wolfgang Maret ◽  
Margaret Rayman

AbstractThe present study reports on first-trimester reference ranges of plasma mineral Se/Zn/Cu concentration in relation to free thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH) and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Ab), assessed at 12 weeks’ gestation in 2041 pregnant women, including 544 women not taking supplements containing Se/Zn/Cu. The reference range (2·5th–97·5th percentiles) in these 544 women was 0·72–1·25 µmol/l for Se, 17·15–35·98 µmol/l for Cu and 9·57–16·41 µmol/l for Zn. These women had significantly lower mean plasma Se concentration (0·94 (sd 0·12) µmol/l) than those (n 1479) taking Se/Zn/Cu supplements (1·03 (sd 0·14) µmol/l; P < 0·001), while the mean Cu (26·25 µmol/l) and Zn (12·55 µmol/l) concentrations were almost identical in these sub-groups. Women with hypothyroxinaemia (FT4 below reference range with normal TSH) had significantly lower plasma Zn concentrations than euthyroid women. After adjusting for covariates including supplement intake, plasma Se (negatively), Zn and Cu (positively) concentrations were significantly related to logFT4; Se and Cu (but not Zn) were positively and significantly related to logTSH. Women taking additional Se/Zn/Cu supplements were 1·46 (95 % CI 1·09, 2·04) times less likely to have elevated titres of TPO-Ab at 12 weeks of gestation. We conclude that first-trimester Se reference ranges are influenced by Se-supplement intake, while Cu and Zn ranges are not. Plasma mineral Se/Zn/Cu concentrations are associated with thyroid FT4 and TSH concentrations. Se/Zn/Cu supplement intake affects TPO-Ab status. Future research should focus on the impact of trace mineral status during gestation on thyroid function.


1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. S. Thickett ◽  
N. H. Cuthbert ◽  
T. D. A. Brigstocke ◽  
M. A. Lindeman ◽  
P. N. Wilson

ABSTRACTResults are presented from six trials dealing with aspects of management on the cold ad libitum system of calf rearing using an acidified milk replacer containing over 600 g skim milk powder per kg.Thirty-six calves were housed in pens of six for each trial and were fed through a teat and pipeline from a storage barrel. Acidified milk replacer, pH 5·6, was mixed cold at 125 g/1 and made available ad libitum to 3 weeks. A rationed allowance was given daily, on a reducing scale, over the following 2 weeks with weaning completed at 35 days. A pelleted dry food containing 180 g crude protein per kg, together with water in buckets and barley straw in racks, was available ad libitum throughout. Each trial lasted 8 weeks. Results for the mean of the six cold ad libitum trials involving 216 calves were compared with the mean results of 10 conventional bucket-fed trials carried out separately at the same unit, involving 912 calves. All calves were purchased British Friesian male (bull) calves.Calves on the ad libitum system showed improved live-weight gains of 9·4 kg at 3 weeks, 8·8 kg at 5 weeks and 7·5 kg at 8 weeks, compared with the conventional system. The consumption of milk replacer powder was higher in ad libitum trials at 29·4 kg cf. 12·5 kg by bucket but intake of pelleted dry feed was lower on the ad libitum system at 50·7 kg cf. 71·3 kg to 8 weeks. Calf appearance scores were significantly improved on the ad libitum system which gave the main improvement in performance in the first 3 weeks.


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Freer ◽  
H. Dove ◽  
A. Axelsen ◽  
J. R. Donnelly

SummaryWeaned cross-bred lambs either grazed mature pasture or were confined to yards where they were offered material cut from ungrazed areas of the same pasture. A 1:2 mixture (on an air-dry basis) of sunflower meal and oat grain was offered for 81 days at 0, 200, 400 or 600 g/head or ad libitum. Individual estimates of intake of pasture and supplement by grazing sheep at four levels of supplementation were made on four adjacent plots.Weight gain increased from –30 to 178 g/day in the grazing animals as supplement intake increased up to 1030 g D.M./day and from –25 to 142 g/day in the yarded animals as supplement intake increased to 1076 g D.M./day. Growth of greasy wool increased from 4·5 to 11·7 g/day for grazing animals and from 4·5 to 10·2 g/day for those kept in yards.At levels of supplement intake below 400 g D.M./day, the intake of grazed pasture increased by up to 58% compared with unsupplemented animals. However, when the intake of supplement was increased to about 650 g D.M./day, pasture intake fell, with an estimated substitution rate of 1·1 g D.M. pasture per g D.M. supplement. At all levels of supplementation, the intake of hay by the yarded lambs was less than half the intake of herbage in the field. However, at levels of supplement intake between 300 and 500 g D.M./day, the substitution rate was similar to that measured in the grazing animals, suggesting that this is an attribute of roughage quality, rather than differential eating behaviour between grazing and yarded animals.The wastage, w (g D.M./day), of supplement was linearly related to the amount offered, s (g D.M./day), by the equationw = 0·263s − 38·8; R2 = 0·89Variability in supplement intake between individual grazing lambs was not affected by the level of supplementation but the coefficient of variation of supplement intake was considerably greater than that of the intake of unsupplemented pasture. Variability in the intake of pasture increased with the level of supplementation but variability in the total intake of food was similar at each level of supplement, indicating some degree of individual compensation in the intake of the two components.


1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne E. Pemberton ◽  
Lida Latifzadeh ◽  
Joseph P. Fletcher ◽  
Subhash H. Risbud

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
RD Sainz ◽  
BJ Hosking ◽  
FJ Hart ◽  
GSG Spencer

This study was part of an experiment on the effects of cottonseed meal (CSM) and growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) on growth in lambs fed lucerne chaff. Forty-eight crossbred lambs were fed lucerne chaff ad libitum, alone or with a cottonseed meal supplement (CSM; 300 g/day). Eight lambs from each group were injected twice daily with recombinant or synthetic GRF (rGRF and sGRF respectively; 30 8g per kg body weight/day) or excipient only for 28 or 30 days. Jugular blood samples were obtained on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28. On day 29, blood samples were taken from selected lambs (n = 2/group) at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160 and 240 min after injection. Supplementation of lucerne chaff with CSM generally increased glucose and urea concentrations in plasma, reflecting improved energy and protein status. However, concentrations of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin were unaffected by CSM, as were plasma proteins, triacylglycerols and non-esterified fatty acids. Injection of rGRF and sGRF stimulated secretion of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin. Peak GH concentrations (20 min) following injection of GRF appeared to be higher in lambs fed CSM than in those receiving lucerne chaff alone. In contrast, maximal concentrations of IGF-1 were seen after 14 days of treatment. These changes were accompanied by increased plasma glucose, with no changes in triacylglycerols, non-esterified fatty acids and protein. Plasma urea was reduced by GRF, indicating that amino acids were diverted away from catabolism towards protein synthesis. These two sources of GRF were very similar in their endocrine and metabolic effects. This confirms similar observations regarding their effects on growth performance and carcass composition.


1957 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. A. Vonk ◽  
L. W. McElroy ◽  
R. T. Berg

Four treatments, involving differences in method of feeding and interval between last feed and slaughter, were employed in a study of the effect of dietary chlortetracycline on protease, amylase, and cellulase activity in the intestinal and cecal contents of 16 pairs of weanling pigs. Most consistent results were obtained with six pairs which were limited pair-fed except for the final feeding during which feed was available ad libitum for a 4-hour period ending 18 hours before slaughter. The mean total activities of all three hydrolases in the contents of the small intestines and of the ceca of the antibiotic-fed animals of these six pairs were significantly greater than in those of the control animals. Expressed as activity per gram dry matter of intestinal contents, significantly higher values for protease and amylase, but not for cellulase, were observed in the pigs that had received chlortetracycline. When the combined results obtained from all 16 pairs of the experimental animals were analyzed, the results showed that on a basis of activity per gram dry matter of intestinal contents, ingested chlortetracycline was associated with significant increases in amylase and cellulase but not in protease activity. Protease, amylase, and cellulase activities per gram dry matter of cecal contents were higher for pigs fed the antibiotic than for their controls. The mean wet weight of the empty small intestine and the mean dry weight of the mucosa scraped from the anterior 3-meter section of the small intestine were lower for the chlortetracycline-fed animals, but the differences were not statistically significant.


1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. T. Treacher

SUMMARY1. Scottish Half-bred ewes carrying twin foetuses were fed individually to make live-weight gains in the last six weeks of pregnancy of (1) 20%, (2) 10% and (3) 0% of their live weight in week 14 of pregnancy. In lactation the ewes were fed ad libitum. The lambs were removed 12 to 16 hr after parturition and the ewes were machine-milked twice daily for the first six weeks of lactation.2. Total birth weights per ewe of twin lambs from the treatments were (1) 10·10 kg, (2) 9·44 kg and (3) 8·18 kg and differed significantly.3. The level and pattern of voluntary intake in lactation did not differ significantly between the treatments. Total dry-matter intakes in the six weeks of lactation were (1) 121·9 kg (2) 105·9 kg and (3) 109·5 kg.4. The pregnancy treatments affected the level of milk production and the shape of lactation curves. The total yields in the first six weeks of lactation were (1) 58·8 kg, (2) 43·5 kg and (3) 26·9 kg. Higher contents of fat and protein and the lower content of lactose in the milk from treatment-3 ewes on days 1 and 3 of lactation indicated a slower onset of lactation in these ewes. Between days 7 and 35 of lactation the contents of fat and SNF were lowest on treatment 3 but the differences were not significant.5. The live-weight changes in lactation, which were in inverse order to the gains in late pregnancy, were (1) 3·4 kg, (2) 5·5 kg and (3) 9·5 kg.


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