Browsing by Author "Meeske, R."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The effect of the addition of a lactic acid bacterial inoculant to maize at ensiling on silage composition, silage intake, milk production and milk composition
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2002) Meeske, R.; Van der Merwe, G. D.; Greyling, J. F.; Cruywagen, C. W.
    The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the addition of a lactic acid bacterial inoculant to maize at ensiling on the fermentation dynamics during ensiling, aerobic stability of the silage as well as the intake, milk production and milk composition of Jersey cows fed maize silage diets. The inoculant contained Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici as well as amylase. Maize was ensiled in laboratory and bunker silos. The inoculant did not result in a more rapid lowering of the pH or a more rapid lactic acid production compared to untreated maize silage made in laboratory silos. Both the control and inoculated maize silages were well preserved with a pH of 3.57 and 3.62, a lactic acid concentration of 66 and 63 g/kg DM and an ammonia nitrogen concentration of 5.88 and 5.10 g/100 g of total nitrogen respectively. No butyric acid was found in either untreated or inoculated maize silage. The maize silages made in the bunker silos were well preserved with a DM of 283 and 307 g/kg silage, pH of 3.50 and 3.51, lactic acid of 37.0 and 35.3 g/kg DM for the control and inoculated maize silage, respectively. The addition of the inoculant to maize at ensiling improved the palatability, intake and the aerobic stability of maize silage compared to the untreated control maize silage. The intake of untreated and inoculated maize silage by Jersey cows was 7.6 and 8.4 kg DM/day for the control and inoculant treatment, respectively. Milk production, milk composition, live weight and condition score of Jersey cows was not significantly affected by the addition of the inoculant to maize silage.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Milk production and in sacco disappearance of pasture NDF in grazing Jersey cows receiving a barley based concentrate
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2007) Lehmann, M.; Meeske, R.; Cruywagen, C. W.
    The aim of the experiment was to determine the effect of feeding low (2.4 kg/d), medium (4.8 kg/d) and high (7.2 kg/d) levels of a barley-based concentrate on milk production and in sacco ruminal disappearance of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in Jersey cows grazing a Westerwold ryegrass pasture. Sixty Jersey cows in early- to mid lactation were randomly allocated to one of three treatments (n = 20). Milk production tended to increase when concentrate level was increased from 2.4 to 4.8 kg/day. Fat corrected milk yield, milk fat yield and milk fat percentage were not affected by treatment. Protein yield only increased when the concentrate level was increased from 2.4 to 4.8 kg/cow per day but there was no further increase when feeding the high level of concentrate. Live weight change and body condition score only increased when the concentrate was fed at 7.2 kg/cow per day. An additional 12 Jersey cows, fitted with ruminal cannulae, were randomly allocated to the High and Low concentrate treatments in a two-period crossover design. Rumen liquid samples were collected every four hours for the determination of rumen pH and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations. Rumen pH was not affected by treatment while total VFA, acetate and isovalerate concentrations increased when the level of concentrate mixture was increased. Rumen NH3-N concentrations were not affected by treatment. The in situ nylon bag technique was used to determine DM and NDF degradation of the pasture. Pasture samples were incubated in the rumen for 0, 4, 8, 12, 20, 30, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Increasing the concentrate mixture did not affect in situ disappearance of pasture DM and NDF, or the rate of degradation. It was concluded that the supplementation of a barley based concentrate to pasture based Jersey cows does not improve animal response when fed at levels higher than 4.8 kg/cow per day. © South African Society for Animal Science.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Replacing maize grain with dried citrus pulp in a concentrate feed for Jersey cows grazing ryegrass pasture
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2017-07-06) Steyn, L.; Meeske, R.; Cruywagen, C. W.
    Dried citrus pulp (DCP) is a high-fibre by-product of the citrus industry. In total mixed ration (TMR) systems it has been shown to maintain a more stable ruminal environment, improving overall production compared with maize. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of stepwise replacement of maize with DCP in a concentrate supplement on milk yield, milk composition and rumen health of Jersey cows grazing ryegrass pasture. Sixty-eight lactating Jersey cows (μ ± SD; 84.5 ± 43.8 days in milk, 20.4 ± 3.09 kg/day) were used in the trial. Cows were allocated to one of four treatments, with 17 cows per treatment, namely no DCP (NDCP): 0% replacement; low DCP (LDCP): 33% replacement; medium DCP (MDCP): 66% replacement; and high DCP (HDCP): 100% replacement. An additional six ruminally cannulated Jersey cows were randomly allocated to the NDCP and HDCP treatments in a two-period cross-over design. Milk yield decreased between 2.1 and 3.2 kg/day when maize was replaced with DCP. Milk fat content did not differ between treatments. However, treatment had a quadratic effect on milk protein and lactose content, with the LDCP and MDCP treatments having the highest values. No change in the diurnal ruminal pH curve and no differences in the rate and extent of pasture dry matter and neutral detergent fibre degradability between treatments were observed. In conclusion, replacing maize grain with DCP in a conventional concentrate diet led to a decrease in milk yield, while rumen health was maintained.