North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) subsist predominantly on low-protein, high-fiber, high-tannin diets. Therefore, we measured the porcupine's ability to digest dry matter, fiber, and protein by conducting digestion trials on eight natural forages and one pelleted ration varying in concentration of fiber, nitrogen, and tannins. On these diets, dry matter intake ranged from 5 to 234 ...

Successful pasture-based milk production systems pivot on balancing dairy cows’ feed requirements with seasonal and annual fluctuations in pasture production. In order to maximise cow production from grazing dairy systems, it is necessary to reach an efficient utilization of grazed grass for feeding cows and the development of appropriate grazing management systems designed to maximize daily pa...

The aim of this study was to determine the best level of utilization of dried waste of cassava starch extraction (WCSEd) as a substitute for corn for lactating cows. Four lactating cows were fed diets with increasing levels (0%, 33%, 66% and 100%) of WCSEd as a substitute for corn. The intake and digestibility of dry matter and nutrients, milk production and composition, blood parameters of glu...

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are often presented suffering from urolithiasis. A high water intake is important in the prophylaxis of uroliths. We investigated the influence factors for water intake using 12 rabbits subjected to different feed and water regimes with practical relevance: Hay, fresh parsley, a seed mix and two different pelleted feed were offered in diverse combinations. Water ...

twenty four primiparous and multiparous holstein cows on early lactation, beginning five weeks postpartum, were used for four weeks to investigate the effects of supplemention of rumen-protected choline (rpc) or vitamin e on milk yield, milk composition, dry matter intake, body condition score and body weight. the cows were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: i)no supplement (...

The pattern of voluntary feed and water intakes by nine unbred Yorkshire gilts, selected at about 125 kg body weight, was recorded for an experimental period of 22 weeks. The gilts increased body weight and showed some sustained change in dry matter (P < .05) and water intakes. Periodic depressions in these intakes were found to be coincident 0 a < .01) with estrus. Increases in depth of back-f...

Defined mixtures of two grass (orchardgrass, perennial ryegrass) and two legume (alfalfa, red clover) hays, harvested in two cuttings in 2 yr, were fed in digestibility, intake and mineral balance trials to wether lambs. Each mixture was fed in ad libitum amounts to six crossbred wether lambs weighing 35 to 45 kg. The effect of increasing proportion of legume in mixtures on dry matter digestibi...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of replacing dry ground corn with crude glycerol on intake, apparent digestibility, performance, and carcass characteristics of finishing beef bulls. A completely randomized block design experiment with 25 d for adaptation and 100 d for data collection was conducted, in which 3,640 Nellore bulls (367 ± 36.8 kg; 18 ± 3 mo) were blocked by b...

abstract in this study 36 holstein bulls (initial bw of 345±61 kg) were randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatments, following a 3×2 factorial arrangement, with 3 concentrate level of fish oil (0, 1 and 2.1% of dm) and 2 levels of alfalfa hay versus corn silage (10 and 20 % of alfalfa hay forage) to investigate the effects of fish oil supplementation and ratio of alfalfa hay and corn silage in di...