The present study aimed to quantify calves' (Bos taurus) preference for long versus chopped hay and straw, and hay versus straw, using cross point analysis of double demand functions, in a context where energy intake was not a limiting factor. Nine calves, fed milk replacer and concentrate, were trained to work for roughage rewards from two simultaneously available panels. The cost (number of m...

Two experiments were conducted with Polypay ewes nursing twin lambs to evaluate the effects of supplementing fat (calcium salts of palm oil fatty acids or hydrogenated tallow) on ewe lactation. In Exp. 1, ewes were fed a 52% concentrate:48% hay-based diet (as-fed basis) consisting of alfalfa hay (n = 4), endophyte-free fescue hay (n = 4), or fescue hay with 3.7% fatty acids (n = 4) from d 4 to ...

Three hundred seventy-seven male stocker calves were used to study the effects of three receiving diets, two growing-finishing diets and two levels of shipping shrink on compensatory gains during the post-receiving feeding period. Calves received on a 75% concentrate diet gained 19 kg more during the first 42 d than those received on hay plus .91 kg daily of protein supplement (P less than .01)...

The objectives were to compare the effect of exogenous fibrolytic enzyme (Biocellulase A20) or anhydrous ammonia (4% DM) treatment on the nutritive value, voluntary intake, and digestion kinetics of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon cultivar Coastal) hay harvested after 2 maturities (5- and 13-wk regrowths). Six individually housed, ruminally cannulated Brangus steers (BW 325 ± 10 kg) were used in...

The natural diet of free-ranging horses is grass, which is typically high in fiber and calorically dilute, however diets for high performance domestic horses are often low in fiber and calorically dense. The aim of the study was to determine the motivation of horses for hay when fed a low roughage diet. Their motivation could be used to determine if low roughage diets compromise the welfare of ...

Past positive experiences can increase herbivores' motivation to eat low-quality foods. However, this is not always translated into a higher preference for low-quality foods in choice tests among foods of higher nutritional quality. Foraging behavior is also affected by properties of the feeding context because the quality and abundance of foods in nature change in time and space. We hypothesiz...

Twenty Naieni breed replacement ewe lambs were used to determine the substitution effects of treated wheat straw with exogenous fiber-degrading enzymes for alfalfa hay on wool characteristics. Five treatment diets were included: 1) control (100% alfalfa hay without wheat straw), 2) 10% enzyme treated wheat straw replaced for alfalfa hay, 3) 20% enzyme treated wheat straw replaced for alfalfa ha...

BACKGROUND To date, no genome-wide association study (GWAS) has considered the combined phenotype of asthma with hay fever. Previous analyses of family data from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study provide evidence that this phenotype has a stronger genetic cause than asthma without hay fever. OBJECTIVE We sought to perform a GWAS of asthma with hay fever to identify variants associated w...

STORAGE AND FEEDING Each year more than 60 million acres of forage crops are harvested for hay in the United States. Annual production from this acreage is over 150 million tons of hay valued at more than 12 billion dollars. Hay is the most widely grown mechanically-harvested agronomic crop in the United States. As a source of nutrition for livestock, hay offers numerous advantages. It can be m...

Thousands of hectares of timothy (Phleum pretense L.) grown in the Mid-Atlantic region are infected by cereal rust mite (Abacarus hysterix) that causes discoloration and curling of leaves, decreased nutritional quality, and substantial decreases in yield. A decline in production of timothy hay can lower income for hay producers and cause horse owners to search for alternative hays. Low alkaloid...