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Effect of Feeding Certain Defined Nutrients on Cellulose Digestion and Volatile Fatty Acid Concentration of the Rumen¹

Departments of Agricultural Chemistry and Animal Husbandry Michigan State University, East Lansing

ABSTRACT

A functional approach to the design of a purified ration for ruminants has been developed. Purified nutrients were force-fed to two fistulated steers to determine the simplest combination that would maintain certain rumen functions over a short period. A ration of cellulose, corn starch, and urea was found to be the simplest combination capable of maintaining the cellulose-digesting ability of rumen ingesta for three days. Cellulose plus a purified soybean protein was more effective than cellulose plus urea.

When the ration consisted of only cellulose, starch, and urea, a source of amino acids was required to maintain cellulose digestion for more than three days. With this ration, no deficiency of valeric or isovaleric acid was demonstrated, and yeast extract was the most effective additive. Determination of molar concentrations of volatile fatty acids indicated that feeding ground cellulose in addition to hay plus supplement or straw plus supplement lowered the ratio of acetic to propionic acid in the rumen.

It is concluded that a functional approach would be useful in developing a purified ration for ruminants.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Article No. 2733.