Maintenance nitrogen requirements of the macropod marsupials Thylogale thetis, red-necked pademelon, and Macropus eugenii, Tammar wallaby

1977 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 407 ◽  
Author(s):  
ID Hume

The maintenance nitrogen (N) requirement of the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, a specles adapted to semiarid habitats, was estimated to be 0.24 g per kg W*0.75 per day of dietary N, or 0.23 g per kg W*0.75 per day of truly digestible N. In contrast, the red-necked pademelon, Thylogale thetis, a wallaby restricted to subtropical rain forest, required 0.60 g per kg W*0.75 per day dietary N, or 0.53 g per kg W*0.75 per day of truly digestible N for mamtenance. Apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM) was lower (P < 0.001) by the pademelons (59%) than by the tammars (72%), and DM intake was higher (39 versus 25 g per kg W*0.75 per day) (P < 0.001). Intake of free water was also greater (P < 0.001) by the pademelons than by the tammars (169 versus 107 ml per 100 g DM intake). It is concluded that the red-necked pademelon is not as 'rummant-like' in its digestive physiology and metabolism as macropod species from more and environments.

2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Lentle ◽  
I. D. Hume ◽  
K. J. Stafford ◽  
M. Kennedy ◽  
B. P. Springett ◽  
...  

We studied parameters that influence the efficiency of food acquisition and oral processing in the tammar wallaby (a grazer) and the parma wallaby (a grazer/browser), both in captivity and under free range on Kawau Island, New Zealand.In captivity, both species spent less time feeding per gram of dry matter intake when browsing than when grazing, and there were no significant differences between the species with respect to the rates of feeding per gram of dry matter intake of a given food. However, under free-ranging conditions, tammar wallabies spent longer feeding than did parma wallabies, so it was likely that tammar wallabies spent more time grazing than browsing. Differences in the relationships between feeding event and inter-feed interval duration in captive and free-ranging wallabies indicated that feeding behaviour was influenced by different factors in the two situations.Microtemporal analysis of the chewing sounds of free-ranging tammar and parma wallabies showed that the interval between the first and second sounds in a 'run' of chewing sounds was longer than that between subsequent intervals, indicating that there was a time cost associated with food aquisition. However, as there were no significant differences between the two wallaby species, either in the mean duration of 'runs' of chewing sounds within feeding events or in the mean duration of whole feeding events, this cost was similar for grazing and browsing. Chewing characteristics differed from those of larger (eutherian) herbivores in that the numbers of chews in a run were not randomly distributed, both species having a preponderance of runs with seven chews. Whilst, the intervals between the second and subsequent chewing sounds in a run did not vary in a periodic manner, such as would occur in batch processing of food, they were more prolonged in runs with more chewing sounds and were significantly longer in tammar wallabies than in parma wallabies. Thus, the slower rate of oral processing of grass was likely due to a generally slower rate of chewing when grazing than when browsing.


1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 ◽  
pp. 133-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
B M L McLean ◽  
J J Hyslop ◽  
A C Longland ◽  
D Cuddeford ◽  
T Hollands

Processed cereals are used routinely in diets for equines but little information is available on how physical processing affects the digestibility of cereals in equines. This study examines the effects of three physical processing methods (rolling, micronisation and extrusion) on the in vivo apparent digestibility of barley fed to ponies.Three mature caecally-fistulated Welsh-cross pony geldings, (LW 284kg ± 3.8kg) were used in a 3 x 4 incomplete latin square changeover design experiment consisting of four 21 day periods. Each period comprised a sixteen day adaptation phase and a five day recording phase when apparent digestibility in vivo was determined. Ponies were offered 4kg dry matter (DM) per day of either 100% hay cubes (HC) or one of three diets consisting of a 50:50 barley:hay cubes mix. The barley in the mixed diets was either rolled barley (RB), micronised barley (MB) or extruded barley (EB). Diets were offered in 2 equal meals per day fed at 09:00 and 17:00 hours respectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Julio Cezar Heker Junior ◽  
Mikael Neumann ◽  
Robson Kyoshi Ueno ◽  
Margarete Kimie Falbo ◽  
Sandra Galbeiro ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to evaluate the associative effect of monensin sodium to virginiamycin and/or essential oils on performance, consumption of nutrients and dry matter, apparent digestibility, feeding behavior and carcass characteristics of feedlot finished steers. The experiment lasted 106 days with 10 days of adaptation and 96-day trial, and had 32 crosses angus steers, average age 12 months and average weight of 376 kg, divided into 16 stalls, the weighing took place every 21 days and at the end of the experiment. The treatments consisted of the combination of the following additives to the diet included: Monensin sodium, 200 mg day-1 (MO); Monensin sodium, a dose of 200 mg day-1 + essential oil dose of 1.5g day-1 (MO+EO); Monensin sodium, a dose of 200 mg day-1 + virginiamycin, 200 mg day-1 (MO+VI); Monensin sodium, 200 mg day-1 + essential oil dose of 1.5g day-1 + virginiamycin day, 200 mg day-1 (MO+EO+VI), each treatment had four repetitions, where each repetitions consisted of a bay with two animals. The MO+VI association in relation to MO only increase in average daily gain (ADG) of 24.44%, 22.35%, 21.10% and 17.31% in weighing 42, 63, 84 and 96 days, similar the combination of MO+EO+VI which provided an improvement of 21.94%, 13.59%, 15.45% and 14.75% respectively in the same weightings. The daily carcass gain and carcass overall gain were higher in associations MO+VI and MO+EO+VI and provided an average gain of 16.67 kg more compared to MO and MO+EO. In the parameters feed efficiency, dry matter intake and nutrient expressed in kg day-1 and percentage of live weight were not observed differences (P > 0.05) between treatments. Data on apparent digestibility, feeding behavior and carcass characteristics did not show statistical difference between treatment, except for fat thickness which was higher when associated with any of the additives to the MO, and farm weight was higher in associations containing VI. Associating MO+VI or MO+EO+VI proved to be best in this work compared to MO+EO or only MO in the diets of steers in termination.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 787-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. GIRARD ◽  
G. DUPUIS

In view of the large variation found in plant cell wall digestibilities with ruminants, an attempt was made to group 124 feeds into different lignification classes (clusters) on the basis of chemical characteristics. Each feed cluster was described using a structural coefficient [Formula: see text] that related the potentially digestible fiber (PDF, %) to the ratio between lignin and cell wall volume. The optimum number of clusters was determined iteratively by performing a regression of the apparent digestibility of dry matter at maintenance level (DDM1, %) against the PDF and cell soluble (SOL, %) contents of feeds. The [Formula: see text] coefficients varied from 0.05 (grains, N = 13) to 1.85 (corn silage, N = 3) and increased with the maturity of the grasses from 0.88 (legumes, vegetative cool season grasses, N = 26) to 1.33 (mature, cool season grasses, N = 19). Predicted PDF were closely correlated (r > 0.9, P < 0.01) to in vitro cell wall disappearances (IVCWD). Apparently digestible cell wall in four grasses and four legumes increased linearly with 96-h IVCWD and standard error (SE) was similar to the SE of predicted apparent digestible SOL from SOL concentrations. Assuming that similarity between SE could be also observed in larger samples, PDF and SOL were used in summative equations to predict apparent dry matter digestibility. DDM1 discounted for intake (DDM1 – 4, %) was regressed against SOL and PDF concentrations of 87 feeds:[Formula: see text]with ds and df, the true digestibilities of SOL and PDF. Estimates of ds and df were 0.98 and 0.95 for a zero-production (maintenance) level of intake, and 0.91 and 0.79 for an intake level four times maintenance. Since the true digestibility of the PDF component was only 4% – 13% lower than that of the cell soluble component, the concentration of PDF in cell wall was the major determinant in the variation in apparent digestibility of forages. Key words: lignin, neutral detergent fiber, true digestibility, cluster analysis, feeds


1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Peddie ◽  
W. A. Dewar ◽  
A. B. Gilbert ◽  
D. Waddington

The apparent digestibility of a diet can be calculated from the amounts of food eaten and excreta voided. This ‘total collection’ method is laborious because it requires a period lasting several days. It can be circumvented by the inclusion in the diet of a suitable reference substance (Kotb & Luckey, 1972). From the concentration of the reference substance (marker) in the diet and in the droppings, apparent dry-matter digestibility can be calculated.


1974 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ivan ◽  
L. R. Giles ◽  
A. R. Alimon ◽  
D. J. Farrell

SUMMARY1. A split-plot design was used to study apparent digestibility of dry matter, gross energy and nitrogen of a whole grain wheat diet and processed (hammermilled, rolled or hammermilled and then steam-pelleted) wheat diets by eight small (33·9 ± 0·1 kg) and eight large (70±1·7 kg) pigs. Metabolizable energy and nitrogen retention were also studied with the small pigs.2. The processed wheat diets were superior to the whole grain wheat diet in all the parameters measured.3. There were no significant differences between the performance of pigs given the differently processed wheat diets.4. Apparent digestibility of dietary components particularly in the whole wheat diet was significantly higher when diets were given to small pigs than when given to large pigs.


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