FORMIC ACID OR FORMIC ACID–FORMALIN AS A SILAGE ADDITIVE

1973 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. BARKER ◽  
D. N. MOWAT ◽  
J. B. STONE ◽  
M. G. FREEMAN ◽  
K. R. STEVENSON

Three methods of ensiling an alfalfa–bromegrass mixture were compared: field-wilted (W) (45% dry matter (DM)); direct-cut (F) (24% DM) with 85% formic acid added at the harvester at 0.5% w/w; and direct-cut (FF) (25% DM) with a formic acid–formalin mixture similarly added at 0.5% w/w. The formic acid–formalin mixture was a 1:1 ratio of 85% formic acid to 40% formaldehyde. Wilted silage was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in pH and soluble N (percent total N) and lower in gross energy than F or FF. Treatment FF produced significantly (P < 0.05) more total acids, butyric acid, and propionic acid, than did F or W. In a 140-day postparturition dairy trial, 30 Holstein cows were grouped by age and randomly assigned to W, F, and FF silages fed ad libitum. Differences among the mean silage DM intakes of 10.6, 10.6, and 9.8 kg/day and mean solids-corrected milk yields of 23.4, 24.9, and 25.5 kg/day for W, F, and FF, respectively, were nonsignificant (P < 0.05). Fifty-four crossbred beef bulls with an average initial weight of 239 kg were fed W, F, and FF as protein supplements (approximately 2.8 kg DM/day) with high moisture corn ad libitum for 133 days. Mean gains were 1.36, 1.35, and 1.28 kg/day and feed: gain ratios were 5.66, 5.82, and 6.04, respectively, for W, F, and FF. No significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in gains, feed: gain ratios, or carcass composition.

1975 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-695
Author(s):  
W. S. ALHASSAN ◽  
J. G. BUCHANAN-SMITH ◽  
T. D. BURGESS ◽  
G. C. SMITH ◽  
G. C. ASHTON

One hundred and forty-four steers of predominantly Angus breeding were used to compare the effects of three housing units (conventional semi-enclosed manure pack, semi-enclosed slatted floor and enclosed–insulated slatted floor) and two diets (high moisture corn and corn silage) on the performance, energy metabolism and carcass composition of steers finished for 88 days in the summer. No diet × housing unit interaction on response criteria was observed. The mean temperature in the enclosed unit (24.6 C) was more than 3 C greater than in other units. Mean relative humidities in each slatted floor unit were 74% whereas it was 70% in the conventional unit. The enclosed–insulated unit may have been insufficiently ventilated. Steers in this unit ate less (P 0.05) dry matter per day (6.78 kg) than those in the semi-enclosed slatted floor unit (7.64 kg) and in the conventional unit (7.66 kg). Different effects of housing unit on gain reflected differences in feed intake. Carcass characteristics of cattle from each housing unit were similar (P 0.05). Efficiency of utilization of metabolizable energy (ME) for maintenance and gain expressed as energy retention (ER) adjusted to equal ME intake was greater (P 0.05) for cattle in the semi-enclosed slatted floor unit (5.17 Mcal/day) than in the insulated–enclosed unit (4.36 Mcal/day). ER adjusted to equal ME intake for steers in the conventional unit was 4.76 Mcals/day. Serum tetra-iodothyronine (T4) levels were similar (P 0.05) for cattle in all housing units, but were depressed in all cattle during a period of the warmest weather. Corn-fed steers ate significantly less dry matter and had significantly greater gain and feed efficiency than silage-fed steers. Backfat thickness was greater (P 0.05) for corn-fed versus silage-fed steers but this difference disappeared when values were adjusted to equal carcass weight.


1979 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Tayler ◽  
K. Aston ◽  
S. R. Daley

ABSTRACT1. Young adult and adult lactating British Friesian female cattle (heifers and cows) were individually fed ad libitum on perennial ryegrass silage (F) made with an additive of formic acid (3·41 of 85% acid/t fresh grass) or on a silage (FF) made from the same crop with an additive of 9·01/t of a mixture of equal volumes of formic acid and formalin (35% w/w solution of formaldehyde). Silage F was supplemented with a concentrate containing 50% dried grass and 50% barley at a low (L) or high (H) level of feeding; silage FF was supplemented with the same concentrate at the lower level only, either with urea at 2·0% of the silage DM (FFLU) or without urea (FFL).2. Silage F had a lower pH (P< 0·001) and contained more lactic, acetic and total fermentation acids (P><0·001). The DOMD in vivo of the diet was lower (by up to 3 units) for treatment FFL than for the other treatments (P<0·05 in weeks 17 and 18).3. Over weeks 4 to 18 of lactation the mean dry-matter intakes (DMI) of silage on treatments FL and FFL were similar, but silage DMI was 12 to 13% greater on treatment FFLU than on FL or FFL (P<0·05). Digestible OM intake was greater with FFLU than with FFL (P<0·01) and with FL (P<0·05).4. Milk yields did not differ significantly between treatments and metabolic blood profiles were normal.


Author(s):  
R. W. J. Steen

Two randomised block experiments, involving 64 British Friesian and Friesian cross steers, have been carried out to compare extracted soyabean, extracted sunflower and fish meals as protein supplements for yearling cattle offered grass silage ad libitum. Two formic acid-treated, precision chopped silages, each made from the primary growth and first regrowth of a perennial ryegrass sward, were used. The control concentrate consisted of (g/kg) 925 barley, 50 molasses, 25 minerals and vitamins. The three high protein concentrates were similar to the control but with 0.30, 0.54 and 0.20 of the barley replaced by soyabean, sunflower and fish meals respectively. The mean chemical compositions of the silages and concentrates used in the two experiments are given in Table 1. All animals received 1.3 kg concentrates per head daily. They were initially 11 months old and 334 kg live weight. The treatments were imposed for 126 days.


1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 897-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. VEIRA ◽  
M. IVAN ◽  
G. BUTLER ◽  
J. G. PROULX

Following weaning at 6–7 mo of age, 36 beef steers were used to determine production responses when grass silage was supplemented with barley or fishmeal. The silage was made from direct-cut, formic- acid-treated grass harvested from a mixed sward and had a high nitrogen content but poor fermentation characteristics. The silage was fed ad libitum for 98 days either alone or supplemented with 500 g fishmeal or 500 g barley per day. Both fishmeal and barley increased total dry matter intake (P < 0.01) by an amount equivalent to the quantity of supplement offered but had no effect on silage intake (P > 0.05). Steers fed the fishmeal grew substantially faster than either the barley (0.53 kg/day) or unsupplemented (0.54 kg/day) groups (P < 0.01). Fishmeal supplementation resulted in a large reduction (35%) in the amount of feed required per kilogram of gain. Key words: Cattle, grass silage, fishmeal, growth


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.


1973 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. PELLETIER ◽  
E. DONEFER

Three yearling Cheviot × Suffolk ewes and three Columbia wethers were confined in metabolic cages and fed ad libitum fresh and dried marrow-stem kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala D.C.) harvested in mid- and late October. Chemical analyses of the forages indicated no marked effects on any of the plant constituents due to drying or advancing maturity. Digestibility measurements demonstrated that marrow-stem kale (MSK) was a highly digestible material with an average dry matter digestibility of 78%. The fresh forages had higher (P < 0.05) dry matter and gross energy digestibility values than the dried form. Dry matter digestibility coefficients were higher (P < 0.05) for late October as compared with the earlier harvest. A trend toward higher (P > 0.05) voluntary intake values due to drying maturity was observed with an average relative intake of 80%. The nutritive value index averaged 65, thus indicating a digestible energy intake similar to a high-quality (legume) forage.


1972 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Macrae ◽  
M. J. Ulyatt ◽  
P. D. Pearce ◽  
Jane Hendtlass

1. In two experiments, sheep prepared with a rumen cannula and with re-entrant cannulas in the duodenum and ileum were continuously fed on diets of dried grass, dried grass plus formalin-treated casein, or dried grass plus untreated casein. Paper impregnated with chromic oxide was given once daily via the rumen fistula.2. In ten 24 h collections of digesta entering the duodenum and eleven 24 h collections of digesta reaching the ileum of sheep given dried grass, there were highly significant correlations between the 24 h flows of Cr marker and the corresponding flows of dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen, gross energy, hemicellulose and cellulose (P < 0.01) at both sites.3. Daily amounts of non-ammonia N and of individual amino acids entering and leaving the small intestine and of total N excreted in faeces and urine are given.4. Net retention of supplementary N was 36% when the supplement was administered as formalin-treated casein, but only 17% when it was administered as untreated casein.5. Formalin treatment of casein significantly increased the daily amounts of non-ammonia N entering the small intestine (P < 0.01) and the amounts of non-ammonia N apparently absorbed therein (P < 0.05).6. Apparent absorption of amino acids from the small intestine was significantly greater (P < 0.05) with treated casein than with untreated casein. There were relative increases in the small amounts of several free amino acids measured, including taurine, in the ileal digesta of sheep receiving the treated casein supplement.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 ◽  
pp. 148-148
Author(s):  
E.M. Browne ◽  
M.J. Bryant ◽  
D.E. Beever ◽  
C.L. Thorp

Dry matter (DM) concentration of maize silage is directly related to maturity of the crop at harvest and widely reported to be positively correlated with total forage DM intake. The objective of this experiment was to investigate these effects using a late maturing beef genotype and a contemporary forage maize variety.Forage maize (variety Hudson) was harvested at four different stages of maturity during September and October 1996. Each stage of maturity was ensiled in a separate clamp with no additive. Resultant silage corrected dry matter contents were 247 (L), 305 (M/L), 331(M/H) and 388 (H)g/kgFW, respectively. Each diet was formulated to be isonitrogenous with fishmeal fed twice daily on top of the silage. Silage was offered ad libitum to 32 growing Simmental X Friesian heifers (mean initial weight 217kg), housed in individual pens in an open-sided Dutch barn and bedded on wheat straw. Eight animals were allocated to each treatment, in a completely randomised design with pre-treatment intake (non-experimental maize silage) used as a covariate in the statistical analysis.


Author(s):  
C. Ewbank ◽  
C.M. Minter ◽  
R.G. Wilkinson

The response of dairy cows offered grass silage to increases in the level of concentrate supplementation is well documented. However little information exists for dairy sheep. The aim of this trial was to assess the impact of concentrate level on silage dry matter intake, milk production and quality and daily liveweight change in milking ewes.After weaning at 8 weeks, 24 mature Friesland ewes were individually penned. Ewes were offered precision chopped grass silage: (dry matter (DM) 203 g/kg; ph 3.4; ammonia nitrogen 58 g/kg total N; crude protein (CP) 164 g/kg DM; metabolisable energy (ME) 10.9 MJ/kg DM) ad-libitum and concentrate DM (CP 194) g/kg DM; ME 12.8 MJ/kg DM) at daily rates of 0; 0.7, 1.4 and 2.1 kg/day with no more than 0.6 kg per feed. Water was available ad libitum. All animals were milked twice daily through a Fullwood parlour and weighed weekly. Silage was fed daily and refusals removed twice weekly. The experiment lasted 6 weeks and was analysed as a random block design.


2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (spe) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lúcia de Fátima Araújo ◽  
Ariosvaldo Nunes Medeiros ◽  
Américo Perazzo Neto ◽  
Líbia de Sousa Conrado Oliveira ◽  
Flávio Luiz Honorato da Silva

The microbial protein bioconversion of cactus pear by yeast in solid medium was studied. Three cultivation variables used were: inoculum's concentrations (5, 10 and 15 %), substrate layer thickness (2, 4 and 6 cm) and temperature (30, 34 and 38 ºC). The rate of dry matter production and total protein were determined. Results obtained were variance analysis, gross energy and in vitro dry matter digestibility. The maximum protein amount achieved for the conditions studied in the present work was higher than 26 %, which was compatible or greater than those of conventional concentrates of protein supplements used for animal feed. The protein concentrate of cactus pear had a higher in vitro digestibility index (95.8 %) and did not show any changes in the gross energy value when compared to that of the cactus pear in natura.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document