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The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of MFL supplementation on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition in early lactating dairy cows. Twelve, Thai crossbred Holstein Friesian cows in early lactation, 500 ± 30 kg of body weight (BW), were randomly assigned according to a completely randomized design (CRD). MFL supplementation levels of 0, 100, 200, and 300 mL/d were used as treatments. Experimental animals were fed a total mixed ration (TMR) with a roughage to concentrate ratio (R:C ratio) of 40:60, which contains 12% crude protein (CP) and 70% total digestible nutrient (TDN). Rice straw was a roughage source. MFL supplementation levels had no effect ( p > 0.05) on body weight change and dry matter intake (DMI) expressed as %BW, whereas DMI expressed as metabolic body weight (BW 0.75 ) was linearly ( p < 0.05) increased, with the highest at 200 mL/d in the YFL supplementation group (147.5 g/kg BW 0.75 ), whereas feed intake of organic matter (OM), CP, ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) did not significant ( p > 0.05) difference among treatments. Related to apparent digestibility, MFL levels did not affect ( p > 0.05) on DM, OM, and EE digestibility, while apparent digestibility of CP, NDF, and ADF were linearly increased ( p < 0.05) when increasing MFL supplementation levels, and the highest ( p < 0.05) were the 200 and 300 mL/d FML supplemented groups. BUN at 0 h post feeding did not show a significant difference ( p > 0.05) between treatments, while at 4 h after feeding, BUN was linearly ( p < 0.05) increased from 0, 100, 200, and 300 (mL/day) MFL supplementation, the values were 12.9, 13.1, 19.7, and 18.4 mg/dL, respectively and the highest was 200 mL/head/day for the MFL supplemented group. MFL supplementation did not affect ( p > 0.05) milk fat, lactose, solid not fat (SNF), and specific gravity of milk, while MFL supplementation at 200 mL/day caused a linear increase ( p < 0.01) in BUN, MUN, milk yield, milk protein, total solids (TS) and 3.5% FCM when supplement levels were increased. In conclusion, MFL supplementation in early lactating dairy cows could improve feed intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition.

The purpose of the current study is to determine the effects of the replacement of cassava chips with winged bean ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus ) tubers (WBTs) on gas production parameters, in vitro degradability, and ruminal fermentation in ruminant diets. The study was performed using a 3 × 4 factorial arrangements and was designed using a completely random method. Factor A employed three various roughage sources that were frequently used by locals to feed ruminants: Oryza sativa L. (a1), Brachiaria ruziziensis (a2), and Pennisetum purpureum (a3). The levels of WBTs substitutions for cassava chips at 0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% in the diet were selected as factor B. The experiment's findings revealed that replacing the cassava chips in the diet with WBTs at levels of 66 and 100% enhanced the fermentation process by producing a high gas volume at 96 h when Ruzi grass (RZ) was used as the main source of roughage ( p < 0.01). The interaction between the roughage source and WBTs showed that organic matter (OM) degradability improved markedly in the case of RZ grass in combination with WBTs at all levels. Both the total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs) at 8 h of incubation and the average value decreased when a complete substitution of casava chips with WBT (WBT 100%) was employed or when employing rice straw as the main source of roughage ( p < 0.01). There was no interaction between WBTs and roughage source on the ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) concentration (ml/dL) and rumen microbial count ( p > 0.05). In summary, WBTs can be used effectively when combined with grass (Ruzi and Napier). The implementation of WBTs as a novel alternative feed may effectively replace cassava chips without affecting rumen function.

This experiment was conducted to assess the effect of hydrolyzed yeast (HY) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and hematology in growing crossbred Bos indicus cattle. Twenty crossbred beef cattle with an initial body weight (BW) of 142 ± 12 kg were randomly assigned to one of four treatments for 90 d in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) having five blocks based on a homogenous subpopulation of sex and BW. Cattle were fed with a total mixed ration (TMR) and supplemented with HY at 0, 1, 2, and 3 g/kg dry matter (DM), respectively. Supplementation with the HY did not change average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F) (p ≥ 0.06). The addition of HY did not adversely affect nutrient intake (p ≥ 0.48), while the digestibility of crude protein (CP) increased quadratically (p= 0.03) in the cattle receiving HY. The addition of HY did not affect rumen pH, but NH3-N concentration increased linearly (p = 0.02) in the cattle. The total volatile fatty acid (total VFA) increased quadratically (p= 0.03) when cattle were fed with HY supplementation. The proportion of acetate decreased cubically (p= 0.03) while propionate increased cubically (p= 0.01), resulting in a decrease in the acetate to propionate ratio (p= 0.01) when cattle were fed with HY supplementation. In addition, acetate was the lowest, but total VFA and propionate were the highest in cattle fed the HY at 2 g/kg DM. Butyrate increased cubically (p = 0.02) with the addition of HY. The protozoal and fungal populations were similar among treatments (p ≥ 0.11), but the bacterial population increased linearly (p < 0.01) with the addition of HY. Supplementation of HY did not influence blood urea nitrogen (BUN), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes, or eosinophils (p≥ 0.10). However, monocytes and neutrophils increased linearly (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively) by HY supplementation. In conclusion, supplementation of HY at 2 g/kg DM promotes CP digestibility, rumen fermentation efficiency, and hematology but does not affect the growth performance of growing beef cattle.

The object of this present work was to determine the effects of supplementation with pellets containing royal poinciana seed meal (PEREM) on feed use, ruminal fermentation efficiency, microbial protein synthesis, blood metabolites and mitigation of methane (CH 4 ) emissions in cattle. The animals used in this experiment were four male Thai native beef cattle ( Bos indicus ) with initial body weights (BWs) of 125 ± 5.0 kg. Each of the animals were randomly assigned to receive PEREM doses at 0, 50, 100 and 150 g/d, respectively, according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Concentrates were fed at 0.5% BW daily, and rice straw was fed ad libitum . There were no significant differences ( p > 0.05) on intakes of rice straw, concentrate and total diet. The intake of nutrients did not change among the levels of PEREM supplementation ( p > 0.05), except for an intake of crude protein, which was linearly enhanced when increasing the dose of PEREM ( p < 0.05). The inclusion of different doses of PEREM did not adversely affect the digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber ( p > 0.05). Adding various doses of PEREM did not alter ruminal pH and ruminal temperature, while concentrations of ammonia-nitrogen were significantly increased with an increased dose of PEREM supplementation ( p < 0.01). The increasing doses of PEREM linearly reduced protozoal numbers ( p < 0.01), with the lowest concentration when PEREM was added at 150 g. PEREM supplementation did not change ( p > 0.05) the concentration of acetic acid or butyric acid or the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid. Nevertheless, the total volatile fatty acid and propionic acid content were changed among PEREM levels ( p < 0.05), which were linearly increased with an increasing dose of PEREM. At 4 h post feeding, the CH 4 concentrations in the rumen of the animal were linearly reduced when the dose of pellets was increased ( p < 0.01). In addition, the inclusion of PEREM did not adversely affect other blood metabolites, namely total protein, creatinine and albumin ( p > 0.05). Furthermore, microbial crude protein and efficiency of microbial N synthesis were linearly enhanced when increasing levels of PEREM were added. The feeding of PEREM at 150 g/d might be an alternative with the potential to improve rumen fermentation efficiency and reduce the environmental effects produced by ruminants.

Methane (CH₄) is an end-product of enteric fermentation in cattle [...].