189 research outputs found
Textured vs pelletted feed impact on dairy heifers pre-weaning
No full textSubmitted 2020-07-03 | Accepted 2020-08-08 | Available 2020-12-01https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.197-204The first three months of life is the most critical period for the young calf, and nutrition plays an essential role for a successful weaning program. The effects of starter feed physical form have been widely investigated in the last decades, but results are variable and often inconsistent. We compared the impact of texturized and pelleted starters on growth performances during the artificial pre-weaning period on replacement female dairy calves. A total of 16 calves were divided in two independent groups, fed with pelleted or texturized starter and monitored from 2 to 44 days of life. Morphometric traits as well as health status, growth performances, feed intake and efficiency were recorded weekly. An interesting significance (p=0.013) was found for the weight increment, that starting from 5th week showed higher values in animals fed with texturized rather than pelleted feedstuff, although no differences were obtained for the feed efficiency. Despite the lack of significant differences, the trends observed for weight increment and health status, suggest some advantages in the use of texturized feedstuff during the pre-weaning period.Keywords: calves pre-weaning nutrition, texturized feed, growth performancesReferencesBach, A. et al. (2007) Effects of physical form of a starter for dairy replacement calves on feed intake and performance. Journal of Dairy Science. 90, 3028–3033. doi:https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2006-761Baldwin, R. L. VI et al. (2004) Rumen development, intestinal growth and hepatic metabolism in the pre- and post-weaning ruminant. Journal of Dairy Science. 87(E Suppl.): E55–E65. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)70061-2Boulton, A. C. et al. (2015) A study of dairy heifer rearing practices from birth to weaning and their associated costs on UK dairy farms. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 5, 185–197.Boulton, A. C. et al. (2017) An empirical analysis of the cost of rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving and the time taken to repay these costs. Animal. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731117000064Drackley, J. K. (2008) Calf nutrition from birth to breeding. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice Special. 24, 55–86. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2008.01.001Franklin, S.T. et al. (2003) Health and performance of Holstein calves that suckled or were hand-fed colostrum and were fed one of three physical forms of starter. Journal of Dairy Science. 86, 2145–2153.Greenwood, R. H. et al. (1997) A new method of measuring diet abrasion and its effect on the development of the forestomach. Journal of Dairy Science. 80, 2534–2541. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(97)76207-6Khan, M. A. et al. (2011) Invited Review: Effects of milk ration on solid feed intake, weaning and performance in dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Science. 94, 1071–1081. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2010-3733Khan et al. (2016) Invited review: Transitioning from milk to solid feed in dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Science. 9, 885–902. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-9975Larson, L. L. et al. (1977) Guidelines toward more uniformity in measuring and reporting calf experimental data. Journal of Dairy Science. 60, 989–991.Lassiter, C.A. et al. (1955) The nutritional merits of pelleting calf starters. Journal of Dairy Science. 38, 1242-1245.Mirzaei, M. et al. (2016) Interactions between the physical form of starter (mashed versus textured) and corn silage provision on performance, rumen fermentation, and structural growth of Holstein calves. Journal of Animal Science. 94(2):678-686. doi: https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2015-9670Newman P.E. and Savage E.S. (1938) Use of Yeast in Calf Meals and Pellets. Journal of Dairy Science. 21: 161-167.Olynk. N. J. and Wolf, C. A.(2008) Economic analysis of reproductive management strategies on US commercial dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science. 91, 4082–4091. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0858Pazoki, A, et al. (2017) Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Ruminal Fermentation, and Rumen Development of Calves During Transition From Liquid to Solid Feed: Effects of Physical Form of Starter Feed and Forage Provision. Animal feed science and technology, 234, 173-185. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2017.06.004Porter, J. C. et al. (2007) Effect of fiber level and physical form of starter on growth and development of dairy calves fed no forage. Professional Animal Scientist. 23, 395–400. doi:https://doi.org/10.15232/S1080-7446(15)30994-3Quigley, J. D., et al. (2018). Effects of feeding milk replacer at 2 rates with pelleted, low-starch or texturized, high-starch starters on calf performance and digestion. Journal of Dairy Science. 101(7), 5937-5948.Ragionieri, L, et al. (2016) Annals of Anatomy Effect of the supplementation with a blend containing short and medium chain fatty acid monoglycerides in milk replacer on rumen papillae development in weaning calves. Annals of Anatomy 207:97–108.Righi, F.et al. (2016). Feeding a free choice energetic mineral-vitamin supplement to dry and transition cows: Effects on health and early lactation performance. Large Animal Review. 22(4), 161–170.Sutton, J. D. et al. (1963) Functional development of rumen mucosa. I. Absorptive ability. Journal of Dairy Science. 46, 426–436.Tamate, H. et al. (1962) Effect of various dietaries on the anatomical development of the stomach in the calf. Journal of Dairy Science, 45, 408–420. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(62)89406-5Terré, M. et al. (2015) Interaction between the physical form of the starter feed and straw provision on growth performance of Holstein calves, Journal of Dairy Science, 98(2), 1101-1109. doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8151von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. et al. (1998) A comparison of textured versus pelleted concentrates on rumen degradability, dry matter intake, milk yield and composition in lactating Holstein cows. Canadian Journal of Animal Science. 78(2), 219-224
Faecal particle size distribution in relation to forage type and digestibility in horses: preliminary results
No full textThe study aimed to explore the connection between horses’ total tract apparent dry matter
digestibility (ttaDMD) of various roughages and faecal particle size (FPS), to develop a tool to
rank roughage digestibility. Six horses, varying in size and breed, were fed six distinct roughages
(four cuts of fescue, perennial ryegrass/clover mix, and straw). Each feeding period lasted 16 days,
with a 14-day adaptation phase. Faecal samples underwent wet sieving analysis. Roughage
chemical composition was evaluated using NIRs. Faecal and roughage acid insoluble ash content
were used to estimate ttaDMD and FPS was determined by wet sieving using a set of 6 sieves of
different mesh sizes (S1 to S6; 6.50, 4.50, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6 and 0.15 mm respectively). The effects of
roughage ttaDMD on FPS across sieves were analysed using GLM. Linear regressions and correlations
were performed between faecal residues on each sieve and mesh sizes of the sieves to create
a mathematical tool to rank ttaDMD based on FPS distribution. Increased ttaDMD was
associated with larger FPS, with perennial ryegrass/clover mix (ttaDMD 74.44%) and straw
(ttaDMD 44.57%) resulting in smaller and larger faecal particles respectively. Correlations were
observed between ttaDMD, S1 and S2 (r1⁄40.639 and 0.668; p�0.001). The angular coefficient of
the linear function between faecal residues on each sieve support the idea to estimate roughages
digestibility from FPS (R2 1⁄4 0.4153). Consequently, determining faecal residues across sieves
of varying mesh sizes could serve as an indirect method for ranking roughages digestibility
Genetic parameters estimation in an Italian horse native breed to support the conversion from agricultural uses to riding purposes
No full textHorses are nowadays mainly used for sport and leisure purposes, and several local breeds, traditionally used in agriculture, are exposed to the risk of extinction. The long-term survival of local horse breeds depends on strategies to both monitor their genetic diversity and to find their sustainable role in the equine market. Thus, several local horse breeds need to adapt their breeding objective to allow a modernization process. The Bardigiano is an example of such horse breeds; we, therefore, studied the existing evaluation protocol from a genetic standpoint to assess the protocol's suitability to convert the Bardigiano from an agricultural to a riding horse. To this end, we estimated genetic parameters for four conformation measurements, ten grading traits and 23 linear traits. For conformation measurements, the heritabilities ranged from 0.31 for cannon bone circumference to 0.63 for height at withers. For conformation and attitude grading traits, the highest heritability (0.34) was estimated for development and the lowest (0.09) for gaits. The heritabilities for linear traits ranged from 0.05 for the leg straightness to 0.32 for the coat colour. Genetic correlations between linear traits and corresponding grading traits varied considerably, ranging from −0.42 to 0.98. This study showed that the current evaluation protocol in the Bardigiano horse is appropriate for genetic evaluation. Genetic parameters estimation can, in turn, be used to develop novel breeding values to help this conversion. Our study paves the way to optimize the Bardigiano horse breeding programme, and it may help several other local horse breeds experiencing similar issues
Evolution of the rumen fluid enzymatic activity during in vitro incubation
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate the evolution of the rumen fluid enzymatic activity (EA) during in vitro incubation. Rumen fluids (RFs) were collected from dairy cows in 2 physiological stages fed 4 diets (DT): dry cows administered 100% hay (TH) or 80:20 forage:concentrate ratio (F:C) diets; and lactating cows fed hay ad libitum and concentrate separately at about 60:40 F:C or total mixed rations (TMR) with a 60:40 F:C. Three farms per each DT were involved and rumen collection was performed on 3 donor cows/farm. RFs were pooled by farm, divided in 2 flasks, inoculated at a ratio of 1:4 with medium and 5 g of a common substrate –a TMR diet- in an in vitro batch fermentation system. Flasks were maintained at 39 °C under anaerobic conditions for 48 hours. During the incubation process, diluted RFs were sampled in duplicate at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24 and 48 h of incubation. Samples were centrifuged and filtered through 0.45 μm porosity filters for the EA determination. EA was evaluated through the radial enzyme diffusion method. Petri dishes with the specific substrate were inoculated with RFs, incubated for 16 h. Halos dimension was measured and expressed as area of the halos surface. Statistical analysis was performed through the repeated measures procedure of the general linear model using DT as a fixed factor, farm as random effect and intervals as repeated measures. With the exception of Xyl, starting from different EA, after an initial irregular peak of activity, a gradual reduction of EA was observed over time. RFs derived from TH showed an opposite trend for both cellulose and xylanase. RFs showed similar A activity at 4 h. Overall, DT showed significant effect for C and A (P ≤0.001) while only a trend was observed for Xyl (P=0.065). At 48 h considering A and at 24h considering C and Xyl, EA were similar between DT and only TH rumen fluid was different compared to the other RFs. In general it appears that the incubation of RFs of different origin with a common substrate tend to homogenise their EA
Low doses of lactoferrin supplementation in weaning calves
No full textDifferent trials demonstrated lactoferrin (LF) to possess antimicrobial, antiviral, antimycotic and anti-inflammatory activity. This molecule is an iron-binding protein that could have preventive effects on calf diseases. Several authors studied the effects of LF at doses between 1 and 10 g/calf/day as a supplement in milk administrated to weaning calves. The results are variable and not always consistent. Twenty-two female replacement calves divided into 2 groups (Control-C and Treated-LF) during a 56-d experimental period were employed to investigate the effect of the use of 0.1 g/d of LF during weaning on growth performances, feed efficiency and health status. The field trial was conducted employing an early weaning protocol (49-d of length, excluding the colostral phase). After parturition, density and immunoglobulin G (IgG) content of dam colostrum were measured as a colostrum quality indicator. Only colostrum with at least 50 mg/mL of IgG was bottle-fed to the calf. Morphometric measurements and feedstuff intake were recorded weekly. Health status and milk consumption were evaluated daily. Calves receiving low doses of LF had numerically less incidence of diarrhoea than the C group (P > 0.05). From a statistical point of view, any significant difference was observed between groups both on growth performances and feed efficiency. A trend for an increase of the FCR was found for LF group at weaning (P = 0.099). More researches are needed to define the optimal dose and the real action of LF in weaning calves.Keywords: calf, lactoferrin, pre-weaned, performances, health statusReferencesAbdel fattah, A., Mohammed, H., Youssef, M., Saleem, A.-S., & Youniss, I. (2019). Assessment the Calf’s Welfare Due to The Gender, Number of Offspring and Calving Status in Holstein Calves. SVU-International Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 2(1), 119–130. https://doi.org/10.21608/svu.2019.6656.1002Bartier, A. L., Windeyer, M. C., & Doepel, L. (2015). Evaluation of on-farm tools for colostrum quality measurement. Journal of Dairy Science, 98(3), 1878–1884. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8415Bielmann, V., Gillan, J., Perkins, N. R., Skidmore, A. L., Godden, S., & Leslie, K. E. (2010). An evaluation of Brix refractometry instruments for measurement of colostrum quality in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 93(8), 3713–3721. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2943Cho, Y. il, & Yoon, K. J. (2014). An overview of calf diarrhea - infectious etiology, diagnosis, and intervention. Journal of Veterinary Science, 15(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2014.15.1.1Comino, L., Tabacco, E., Righi, F., Revello-Chion, A., Quarantelli, A., & Borreani, G. (2014). Effects of an inoculant containing a Lactobacillus buchneri that produces ferulate-esterase on fermentation products, aerobic stability, and fibre digestibility of maize silage harvested at different stages of maturity. 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Journal of Dairy Science, 75(11), 3131–3135. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(92)78076-XMorrill, K. M., Conrad, E., Lago, A., Campbell, J., Quigley, J., & Tyler, H. (2012). Nationwide evaluation of quality and composition of colostrum on dairy farms in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science, 95(7), 3997–4005. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2011-5174NRC. (2001). Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. National Research Council. (N. A. Press, Ed.) (Nutrition,). National Academies.Pan, Y., Rowney, M., Guo, P., & Hobman, P. (2007). Biological properties of lactoferrin: An overview. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology, 62(1), 31–42.Pempek, J. A., Holder, E., Proudfoot, K. L., Masterson, M., & Habing, G. (2018). Short communication: Investigation of antibiotic alternatives to improve health and growth of veal calves. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(5), 4473–4478. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-14055Prenner, M. L., Prgomet, C., Sauerwein, H., Pfaffl, M. W., Broz, J., & Schwarz, F. J. (2007). Effects of lactoferrin feeding on growth, feed intake and health of calves. Archives of Animal Nutrition, 61(1), 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450390600973675Righi, F., Simoni, M., Foskolos, A., Beretti, V., Sabbioni, A., & Quarantelli, A. (2017). In vitro ruminal dry matter and neutral detergent fibre digestibility of common feedstuffs as affected by the addition of essential oils and their active compounds. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences, 26(3), 204–212. https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/76754/2017Righi, F., Simoni, M., Malacarne, M., Summer, A., Costantini, E., & Quarantelli, A. (2016). Feeding a free choice energetic mineral-vitamin supplement to dry and transition cows: Effects on health and early lactation performance. Large Animal Review, 22(4), 161–170.Robblee, E. D., Erickson, P. S., Whitehouse, N. L., McLaughlin, A. M., Schwab, C. G., Rejman, J. J., & Rompala, R. E. (2003). Supplemental lactoferrin improves health and growth of holstein calves during the preweaning phase. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(4), 1458–1464.https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73729-1Shah, A. M., Shah, A. R., Hassan, M. F., Yousif, M., & Wang, Z. (2019). Colostrum composition and its importance to the health ofanimals - A review. Punjab University Journal of Zoology, 34(2), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pujz/2019.34.2.197.206Simoni, M., Temmar, R., Bignamini, D. A., Foskolos, A., Sabbioni, A., Ablondi, M., Quarantelli, A., & Righi, F.(2020). Effects of the combination between selected phytochemicals and the carriers silica and Tween 80 ondry matter and neutral detergent fibre digestibility of common feeds. Italian Journal of Animal Science, 19(1), 723-738.https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2020.1787882Superti, F., Ammendolia, M. G., Valenti, P., & Seganti, L. (1997). Antirotaviral activity of milk proteins:Lactoferrin prevents rotavirus infection in the enterocyte like cell line HT-29. Medical Microbiology and Immunology, 186(2–3), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004300050049Svensson, C., Lundborg, K., Emanuelson, U., & Olsson, S. O. (2003). Morbidity in Swedish dairy calves from birth to 90 days of age and individual calf-level risk factors for infectious diseases. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 58(3–4), 179–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5877(03)00046-1Taha, N., El barbary, H., Ibrahim, E., Mohammed, H., & Wahba, N. (2019). Application of lactoferrin as a trial to control E.Coli O1and O26 in pasteurized milk. Benha Veterinary Medical Journal, 36(2), 360–366. https://doi.org/10.21608/bvmj.2019.15172.1054Teraguchi, S., Shin, K., Fukuwatari, Y., & Shimamura, S. (1996). Glycans of bovine lactoferrin function as receptors for the type 1 fimbrial lectin of Escherichia coli. 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Impact of pre-partum nutraceutical or monensin intraruminal boluses on colostrum quality and dairy cows’ performance: exploratory field study
No full textA smooth transition phase is the key for optimal dairy cows’ performance and reduced antibiotics use. Therefore, the objective of our Our study was to compare the effect of an antibiotic growth promoter and a nutraceutical bolus, onhealth, colostrum, milk production, and profitability in transition dairy cows. Seventy-five animals blocked by parity, previous milk yield, lactation length, and body condition score (BCS) were assigned in a randomised design to 1 of 3 groups: control (CON; N = 26) receiving no treatment; monensin (MON; N = 27) receiving, a slow-releasing intraruminal bolus of sodic monensin at −20 d relative to expected calving; nutraceutical (ECS; N = 22) receiving, at −5 d before the expected calving an intraruminal bolus of Echinacea purpurea dry extract, vitamin E, l-carnitine and Silybum marianum released within 24h. Colostrum yield and density were recorded; its composition and immunoglobulins content were analysed. Every 20 days BCS was recorded; individual milk yield was recorded daily until 70DIM and monthly thereafter until 305 DIM. Milk quality was tested monthly. An economic evaluation until 70DIM was performed. Colostrum and BCS were analysed by analysis of covariance. Economics and BCS were analysed with ANOVA, and milk yield and quality with ANOVA for repeated measures. The MON and ECS had lower colostrum protein and His, Arg, Ala, Met, Val and Ile content, and in higher milk yield until 35 (ECS) and 70 (MON) DIM compared to the CON. A trend for a higher partial income was observed for MON and ECS compared to the CON group, suggesting a positive impact of the treatments
Study of the in vivo periodic fluctuation of microbiome composition and enzymatic activity of rumen fluids used as inocula
No full textAim of the present work was to evaluate the microbiome composition (MC) and the relative enzyme activities (EAs) to assess individual, daily and weekly fluctuations of rumen fluids (RFs) inocula degradative capacity. MC and cellulase (Ce), amylase (Am) and xylanase (Xy) activities were tested on the liquid fraction of RFs sampled before –T0–, and after 4 and 8hours from the main meal –T4 and T8 respectively – in 3 days with one-week interval for a total of 3 weeks. RFs were collected from 4 Holstein cows (2 heifers, 2 adults) fed a hay-based diet. The liquid fraction of each sample was divided into 2 aliquots: one was centrifuged and filtered through 0.45 μm filter porosity for the EAs tests; the other was freeze-dried for the MC analysis. Bacteria were extracted using the Repeated Bead Beating Plus column method followed by PCR amplification of the V3–V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Libraries were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq instrument with a paired-end 2×300 run. MC data were analysed by QIIME pipeline using Greengenes as reference database. The EAs were tested using the radial enzyme diffusion method using
substrate concentrations of 0.5%, 0.5% and 0.1% for Ce, Am and Xy respectively, and expressed as area of the halos surface (mm2). EAs statistical analyses were performed using the Linear mixed model. MC did not differ daily, but individual (p≤001) and weekly (p≤001) differences in bacterial composition (beta-diversity) were found. The individual differences were more marked among heifer and adult cows. Overall, individual, weekly and daily EAs variations
were found (p≤001) while not significant daily differences for Am were measured in analogy with MC findings. The lowest Xy was found in the 1st week (177.86 vs. 193.34 and 196.50 mm2, p≤001) while Ce showed a depression in the 2nd week (239.32 vs. 315.50 and 276.35mm2 , p≤001) and Am was depressed in the 3rd (110.75 vs. 136.36 and 153.35mm2 , p≤001) week. Regarding the daily variation, Xy generally increased starting from T0 to T4 and T8 (172.62,
192.44 and 202.64 mm2 respectively) while Ce showed different results at T4 increasing in two cows and decreasing in the other two. Nevertheless, MC did not change over the day while weekly and individual variations appeared especially when heifer and adult cow were compared. Enzymatic activity of rumen fluids varied individually, weekly and daily, therefore degradative capacity could vary widely among inocula used for in vitro procedures
STUDY OF A FIVE SIEVES FECAL PARTICLES SEPARATOR TO EVALUATE FIBER AND DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY IN DAIRY CATTLE
No full textThe aim of the present study was to evaluate the undigestible neutral detergent fiber and dry matter (auNDFom and uDMom) in fecal particle fractions of lactating dairy cows. Fecal particles were stratified through a battery of five sieves with 4.6, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6 and 0.15 mm pore sizes. Four dairy farms located in the Parmigiano Reggiano cheesemaking area, feeding hay based total mixed ration (TMR), were involved. Five fecal samples were collected in each farm from 5 multiparous lactating Holstein cow of 60 to 90 days in milk (DIM). For each analysis, 250 g of feces were weighted and put on the upper sieve, then washed with a water flow of 250 ml/s for 30 seconds. Washing was performed at each level of the sieves battery during sieves removal. Sieving was repeated three times for each sample. Residual material on each sieves was recovered, dried at 50°C for 48 hours and weighted. Triplicate of each sieve were pooled to carry out the “in vitro” digestion, for the determination of uDMom and auNDFom at 240 hours of fermentation. Statistical analysis was performed through the univariate procedure of the general linear model, using farm and sieves as fixed factors and cow as a random effect; post hoc LSD test was performed. Results showed that 2nd, 3rd and 4th sieves residues were similar for auNDFom proportion but differed from the 1st and 5th and escape residues (64.12, 67.55 and 64.18 %DM vs 57,39, 55,77% and 16,90% respectively; P≤0.001), while, considering the uDMom, the 3rd sieve residue showed the highest value (P≤0.001), being equal to 75.13 %DM. It appears that fecal particles having dimensions between 1.18 and 2.36 contained the lowest digestible dry matter residue, indicating the highest exploitation by the lactating cow, while this range is wider if auNDFom (%DM) is considered
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