Browsing by Subject "Fiber in animal nutrition"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Evaluation of Leucaena leucocephala as an alternative roughage source(Texas Tech University, 1996-05) Pollard, Gregory V.During t:he middle of tihe 20"" century, Leucaena leucocephala was discovered to be a possible replacement for alfalfa in many farming systems where alfalfa production is impractical due to cost or climate. Many people in tropical, subtropical and semi-arid areas throughout the world have used this legume as a high quality grazing forage or green-chop, in addition to its use for erosion control and as a fuel-wood source. However, little is known about the feeding value of this plant as a dried or an ensiled forage. Previous research indicates that Leucaena is a suitable fresh forage for dairy cattle, dairy goats, beef cattle, sheep and certain non-ruminant species like rabbits, swine and poultry. However, research is limited as to the value of Leucaena as a harvested and preserved roughage source for cattle. The search for new alternatives to standard forage production systems has lead many researchers to look for new species of plants that can compete with today's forages. In particular, ensiled legumes have not been able to gain in popularity because of the multitude of problems that have been associated with their use, such as high protein loss and effluent leaching, rumen metabolic difficulties and forage production obstacles. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the feeding value of dried, ground Leucaena for lactating dairy cattle on milk production and composition, to ascertain the ensiling characteristics of chopped, wholeplant Leucaena; and to determine the in vitro digestion of Leucaena silage.Item In-vitro digestibility and energy utilization of extruded cotton gin trash by ruminants(Texas Tech University, 2000-12) Johnson, Melissa AlysonOne metabolism study and two In vitro experiments were utilized to detenmine the effects of extruded gin trash (EGT) with added starch on in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), apparent dry matter digestibility (ADD), feed intake (Ft), nitrogen balance (NB), and nitrogen retention as a percentage of intake (NRI) and absorption (NRa). The cotton gin trash (CGT) used in these experiments was extruded at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Cotton Production and Processing Unit (CPPRU) in Lubbock, Texas. An Insta-Pro model 2000 Extruder (Triple "F", Inc, Des Moines, Iowa 50322) was utilized to process the experimental material at 88 to 104°C, and a solution of 88 to 91 °C non-food grade cornstarch was injected onto the CGT at the pre-determined levels just prior to cooking. Roughage treatments analyzed during the in vitro experiment included cottonseed hutis (CSH), ground gin trash (GGT), and extruded gin trash (EGT) with varying levels of added starch. The first in vitro experiment showed a quadratic effect of starch level on IVDMD, and greatest digestibility was achieved with 13% added starch. Both in vitro experiments showed overall that, regardless of processing, cotton gin trash treatments were more digestible (P < .01) than cottonseed hulls. Processing by extrusion atone did not significantly enhance the digestibility of cotton gin trash, but did improve the rate of its digestibility. Extrusion with added starch did result in enhanced (P < .05) digestibility when compared to the other treatments. Concentrate diets containing a 30% roughage portion of CSH, GGT, or extruded gin trash with 4 (EGT 4) or 13% (EGT 13) added starch were additionally analyzed by In vitro analyses and used for a metabolism study. Digestibility values obtained in the metabolism study were approximately 6 to 10% higher than those obtained during in vitro analysis, and results showed EGT treatments more digestible than GGT and CSH. Ground gin trash and EGT 4 showed more acceptable NB, NRi, and NRa. However, EGT 4 and EGT 13 did not differ from CSH in the case of NRi and NRa. Of alt variables measured, CSH treatment diets were superior only for Fl. Data obtained from all experiments of this study prove EGT with less than 13% added starch to be a viable roughage alternative for ruminant animals. However, GGT and EGT 4 performed the best in terms of overall feeding value when all measured variables were accounted for simultaneously.