Ruminant Nutrition Flashcards
Cow BCS
2.5/5
Milk requirement
5MJ/liter
Volume of neonate rumen and abomasum
Abomasum: 60% Rumen: 25%
Volume of adult rumen and abomasum
Abomasum:22% Rumen: 62%
Casein
Protein of milk
5 Steps for Rumen Development
Establish bacteria in rumen, liquid in rumen, macular action to help with outflow, absorptive ability of the tissue, and substrate available in the rumen.
Reticulum
Honeycomb. No absorptive capacity. Controlled by the vagus. Mechanical breakdown
Omasum
Many folds. High absorption
Abomasum
True stomach. Digests food chemically.
Small Intestine
Fluid and water absorption
Large Intestine
Cecum blind ended sac. Storage to allow for further breakdown of foodstuffs. Primary site for water and Na absorption
VFAs
Cow’s main energy source
Ammonia
Used to form microbial protein
Gases
Waste products that are eructated out
Lignin
Non-digestible by rumen micro-organisms. No nutritional value.
Cruse Fiber
Traditional measure of fiber content in feeds. NDF and ADF
NDF
Neutral Detergent Fiber. Structural component of plant. Digested slowly.
ADF
Acid Detergent Fiber. Least digestible plant component, including cellulose and lignin. Poor energy content and is excreted.
ADF vs NDF
If ADF is larger than NDF, the feed will be LESS digestible.
Slow Carb Fermentation
Straw and fibrous hay
Fast Carb fermentation
Molasses
Volatile Fatty Acids
End product of anaerobic microbial fermentation of carbohydrates in ruminants
What provides the majority of a cows energy?
Volatile Fatty Acids
Types of VFA
Acetate, Butyrate, and Propionate Acid
Acetate
The majority of VFA. Predominates on high roughage diet.
Butyrate
Provides energy to the rumen wall. 10-14% of the VFA. Found in poorly fermented silage
Propionate
18-21% VFA. Predominates in high concentrate diet. Provides energy via the conversion of blood glucose in the liver
Undegraded Dietary Proteins
Dietary protein not broken down by microbes in the rumen and so pass tp the abomasum
Rumen Degradable Protein
Broken down by rumen microbes.
Forage to concentrate
60% forage vs 40% concentrates
Saliva produced by roughage
150L
Saliva produced by grains and concentrates
40L
Gross energy
Total amount of energy the feed contains
Digestible Energy
GE - Food that is not digestible and therefore passed in the feces
Metabolizable Energy
DE - Losses in methane and Urine
Fermentable Metabolizable Energy (FME)
Proportion of organic matter of a feed that is fermented in the rumen
Effective Rumen Degradable Protein (ERDP)
The microbial requirement for nitrogen. More microbes work, more nitrogen needed
