| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
1 National Institute for Animal Nutrition, B-9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
Physical structure of 14 maize silages was investigated; chewing activity was measured with eight cows over 4 d. Silages were harvested from the milk dough dent to the hard dough dent stages of maturity and chopped at lengths of 4 to 16 mm. Silages were fed for ad libitum intake and were supplemented with 2 kg of soybean meal. Eating, ruminating, and total chewing indexes varied from 16.5 to 25.3, 34.3 to 50.2, and 50.8 to 75.5 min/kg of silage DMI, respectively. Ruminating and total chewing indexes decreased as maturity stage increased. Eating index was not significantly affected by chopping to 4 to 8 mm lengths but was higher for the 16-mm maize. Ruminating index was higher with 8-mm than with 4-mm maize, but coarser chopping had no additional effect. Thus, total chewing index increased continuously as chopping length increased from 4 to 16 mm. Chemical (DM, crude fiber, NDF, ADF, lignin, and starch) and physical parameters (particle size, milling resistance, and density) and in vitro digestibility were used to derive equations to predict ruminating and total chewing indexes. In vitro digestibility and the fraction of vegetative plant particles retained on a 2.38-mm sieve were the main determinants of both chewing indexes.
Key Words: physical structure • chewing index • maize silage
Submitted on August 20, 1992
Accepted on February 5, 1993
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. Z. Yang and K. A. Beauchemin Altering Physically Effective Fiber Intake Through Forage Proportion and Particle Length: Chewing and Ruminal pH J Dairy Sci, June 1, 2007; 90(6): 2826 - 2838. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Z. Yang and K. A. Beauchemin Physically effective fiber: method of determination and effects on chewing, ruminal acidosis, and digestion by dairy cows. J Dairy Sci, July 1, 2006; 89(7): 2618 - 2633. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Z. Yang and K. A. Beauchemin Effects of Physically Effective Fiber on Chewing Activity and Ruminal pH of Dairy Cows Fed Diets Based on Barley Silage J Dairy Sci, January 1, 2006; 89(1): 217 - 228. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Fernandez, C. Martin, M. Champion, and B. Michalet-Doreau Effect of Corn Hybrid and Chop Length of Whole-Plant Corn Silage on Digestion and Intake by Dairy Cows J Dairy Sci, May 1, 2004; 87(5): 1298 - 1309. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. J. Kononoff and A. J. Heinrichs The Effect of Corn Silage Particle Size and Cottonseed Hulls on Cows in Early Lactation J Dairy Sci, July 1, 2003; 86(7): 2438 - 2451. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
