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Simple Summary: The supplementation of direct-feed microorganisms (DFM) that are commonly used in ruminants. The main types of DFM used in ruminant studies include yeast, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), etc. However, the interaction and subsequent results of mixed microbes such as yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and other microbes in ruminants have not been studied. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of microbial fermented liquid (MFL) supplementation on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition in early lactating dairy cows. The results showed that supplementation could improve feed intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition in early lactating dairy cows. 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 (BW0.75) was linearly (p < 0.05) increased, with the highest at 200 mL/d in the YFL supplementation group (147.5 g/kg BW0.75), 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Kasedbok (Neptunia javanica Miq.) is a fodder tree legume that grows successfully in a range of tropical and subtropical regions. Kasedbok could be used as a protein source in beef cattle's concentrate diet, which would lower the cost of feeding. We evaluated the effect of the Kasedbok levels in the diets on feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, and the microbial population in beef cattle. The findings indicated that using up to 240 g/kg Kasedbok in concentrate diets does not affect feed utilization, rumen characteristics, or microbial population, lowering feed costs. This experiment was conducted to determine the influence of Kasedbok (Neptunia javanica Miq.) on the feed utilization, rumen fermentation, and microbial population in Thai Native beef cattle. Four animals with a mean body weight of 295 ± 15 kg were randomly arranged in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. There were four treatments, utilizing 0, 80, 160, and 240 g/kg Kasedbok in concentrate. Local feed resources, including cassava chips, rice bran, palm kernel meal, and soybean meal, were utilized to formulate the concentrate diets, which contained between 11.8 and 12.0% crude protein (CP). The trial was conducted for four periods of three weeks each. The first two weeks consisted of an adaptation period, while the final week was a sampling period. The findings of the current study reveal that feed intake, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility were similar between treatments. In addition, there was no effect of Kasedbok levels on rumen pH, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration, or volatile fatty acid. However, increasing the inclusion level of Kasedbok linearly decreased CP digestibility and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration (p = 0.04). In contrast, the population of fungal zoospores improved significantly (p = 0.03), while the bacterial and protozoal counts remained unchanged (p > 0.05). Furthermore, when the level of Kasedbok was increased from 0 to 80, 160, and 240 g/kg DM, the cost of concentrate decreased by 4.1, 7.8, and 10.6 USD/100 kg DM, respectively. The results of this experiment suggest that utilizing 240 g/kg of Kasedbok in a concentrated mixture will not affect feed utilization, rumen fermentation, improve microbial population, and reduce feed cost in Thai native beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cassava is becoming increasingly popular in the worldwide market, thus leading to price surges. This phenomenon has a direct influence on ruminant farming, as cassava is used as an energy source in more than half of their meals. Accordingly, we have been searching for an alternative feed to compensate for this uncertainty and, more specifically, for tuberous crops such as winged bean tubers (WBTs) that have the potential to deliver nutrition equivalent to or even greater than conventional cassava chips. It was hypothesized that WBTs would be ideal for usage as animal feed and a unique alternative feedstock for ruminants. We identified that, when associated with grass, WBTs may be effectively utilized to substitute cassava chips without impairing rumen function. To summarize, even though it is too early to determine if WBTs can be utilized as a substitute for cassava, there are aspects of our study that indicate this possibility, and further research is required to evaluate the practicability of this alternative feedstuff. 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 (NH3-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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The use of agro-industrial by-products as ruminant feed will lower the production costs and improve livestock profitability. Cassava peel is a major by-product of processing cassava roots for food, starch, and animal feed. The abundant fiber and low crude protein in cassava peel present a nutritional challenge. The goal of this study was to use a microorganism (Saccharomyces cerevisiae or effective microorganism, EM) to increase the nutritive value of cassava peel, use it as a replacement for concentrate, and examine the effects on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and growth performance of goats. The findings indicated that the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, volatile fatty acid profile, overall average daily gain, and feed efficiency were not significantly different among treatments. Therefore, yeast- or EM-fermented cassava peel can replace up to 50% of the concentrate without affecting the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, or growth performance. This can lower the feed cost per gain by up to 32%. The goal of this study was to improve the nutritional value of cassava peel by using yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or effective microorganisms (EM), then use it as a replacement for concentrate, and examine the effects on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and growth performance of goats. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD), and the dietary treatments were (1) concentrate, (2) replacement of the concentrate by yeast-fermented cassava peel (YFCP) at 50% and (3) replacement of the concentrate by EM-fermented cassava peel (EMFCP) at 50%. Twelve goats were given concentrate based on their treatments at a rate of 1.5% of their body weight. Rice straw was used as roughage and fed freely. It was found that the crude protein (CP) content of the cassava peel from 2.1% to 13.7–13.8% after 14 days of fermentation. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the treatments in terms of the feed intake, feed digestibility, ruminal pH, blood urea nitrogen concentration, volatile fatty acid profile, overall average daily gain, and feed efficiency. However, the cost of the feed per gain decreased when the YFCP or EMFCP was used instead of the concentrate. Based on the results of this experiment, it was possible to conclude that yeast or EM might be utilized as microorganisms to increase the nutritional value of cassava peel. Moreover, YFCP or EMFCP can replace concentrate by up to 50% without an impact on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation characteristics, and the growth performance; whereas, it can reduce the feed cost per gain up to 32%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This work was to study the influence of Piper sarmentosum (PS) leaf powder supplementation in cattle diet. It was found that supplementation of PS leaf powder at 2.4 g/d resulted in improving total feed intake and dry matter (DM) digestibility whereas there was reduced protozoal population and methane (CH4) production in cattle. The aim of this research was to study the influence of inclusion of Piper sarmentosum (PS) leaf powder on feed efficiency, rumen ecology, protozoal diversity and CH4 emission in cattle. Four male beef cattle (1–1.5 years old) with similar initial body weights (BW) of 150 ± 20.00 kg were randomly assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin squared design. Experimental diets consisted of four levels of PS leaf powder supplementation at 0 (control), 0.6, 1.2 and 2.4 g/head/d, respectively. Dry matter (DM) intake of rice straw and total intake in terms of g/kg BW0.75 differed among treatments and were linearly greatest when PS was added at 2.4 g/head/d (p < 0.05). PS leaf powder did not affect the intake of nutrients and digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, and fibers. Nevertheless, digestibility of DM was found to increase by 4.8% in cattle when added at 2.4 g/head/d as compared to the other control treatments. PS leaf powder did not affect ruminal pH, ruminal temperature, ammonia–nitrogen concentration and blood urea-nitrogen (p > 0.05). The bacterial population was similar across PS levels (p > 0.05). However, the protozoal count was lower in animals fed with the supplement at 2.4 g/head/d (p < 0.05). The PS leaf powder did not affect total volatile fatty acid (VFA) and acetic acid (C2), butyric acid (C4), C2 to propionic acid (C3) and C2 to C3 to C4. However, concentration of C3 at 4 h post feeding and mean value linearly increased with supplementation of PS leaf powder at 2.4 g/d. The 4 h post-feeding and mean values of CH4 concentration were linearly reduced with PS supplementation (p < 0.05). An increase of PS leaf powder at 2.4 g decreased CH4 after feeding 4 h by 21.33% when compared to no PS leaf powder. Thus, supplementation of PS leaf powder at 2.4 g in ruminant feeding is recommended for manipulating rumen efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]