Comparison of the Digestibility of Grain and Forage by Sheep, Red and Fallow Deer

Isolation and characterization of anaerobic bacteria with fiber degradation potential from faeces of Boselaphus tragocamelus grazing on semi arid Indian conditions

Hindgut of wild ruminants harbours diversified anaerobic bacteria with promising fiber degrading ability. Fibrolytic enzyme activity is strongly influenced by diet and host species which till date remains unexplored for harnessing their optimum benefits. The present study was conducted to isolate and characterize fiber degrading anaerobic bacteria from faeces of wild blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) inhabiting in semiarid regions. A total of 167 isolates were obtained from 85 faecal samples using M-10 medium, on the basis of clear zones formed on Congo red plates 20 isolates were selected and designated as NLG1-20 for microscopic and biochemical characterization. Further, molecular confirmation was done by PCR analysis with universal 16S rDNA primers. All isolates were obligatory anaerobes except, NLG4, NLG19 and NLG20. Majority of the sugars tested were utilized by most of the isolates except arabinose. Fibrolytic enzyme activities revealed that NLG1 had highest endoglucanase activity, NLG13 had highest exoglucanase activity while NLG8 showed maximum xylanase activity. In case of FPase assay, highest and lowest values were observed in isolate NLG11 (8.96 U/mL) and NLG8 (5.58 U/mL), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolates revealed a highly diverse group of microbes mainly belonging to the family Paenibacillaceae which have not been previously characterized in ruminants for fiber degradation. Therefore, results obtained in the present study indicated that the screened isolates showed promising fiber degrading potential in terms of filter paper assay and fibrolytic enzyme activity which can be explored further for improving lignocellulose digestibility in ruminants as an additive.

Study of chemical composition and nutritional values of vegetable wastes in Bangladesh

The present study was conducted with the objectives of determining the chemical composition and nutritional value of vegetable waste (VW) of households and the marketplace for their suitability as ruminant feed. The crude protein, total digestible nutrients and extent of rumen degradability of dry matter (DM) of VW of households were 140.0 g kg-1, 0.668 and 0.855, respectively; while those of the marketplace were 169.0 g kg-1, 0.633 and 0.80, respectively. The levels of chromium and lead in each respectively, was 13.27 and 1.53 ng kg-1DM; and 31.01 and 5.71 ng kg-1DM. The total aflatoxins in VW of households was 3.08 µg kg-1DM, and undetectable in VW from the marketplace. Considering the chemical composition and safety parameters studied, VW could preliminary be considered as animal feed. The feeding of processed marketplace VW (VWP) at 275 g kg-1DM of a diet or 0.76% of live weight (LW) to growing bulls, replacing 50% of a concentrate mixture as supplement to a Napier silage diet for a period of 34 days reduced the total DM intake (0.0276 vs 0.0343 LW) without any significant (P > 0.05) changes in DM or protein digestibility. Blood urea levels (19.5 vs 23.67 mg dl-1), and serum creatinine levels (1.37 vs 1.08 mg dl-1) differed significantly (P > 0.05) between the two groups but were within normal physiological ranges. Therefore, it may be concluded that the level of incorporation of VWP would be less than 50% replacement of the concentrate in the diet. Further research is required to determine optimum inclusion levels in ruminant diets.

Intake and utilization of sorghum and maize green fodder in spotted deer under captivity

PURPOSE

The feeding value and nutritional adequacy of two cereal fodder, viz. sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) and maize (Zea mays), were evaluated in spotted deer (Axis axis) and compared with that in sheep in two consecutive feeding trials of 35 days each.

METHODS

Four spotted deer (2 years of age, 68.3 kg average body weight) and six sheep (1.5 years of age, 18.0 kg average body weight) were fed on the above two fodder types as sole feed. Nutrient digestibility and evaluations were made through two digestion studies that ended with each feeding period.

RESULT

Both sorghum and maize fodder provided 11% CP and 4.4 kcal DE per gram of TDN in the two species studied. A lower intake of DM (40.6 vs 47.5 g/kg(0.75)) and other nutrients was observed in deer during maize feeding period. It was similar but lower in sheep compared to deer. The digestibility of nutrients from both fodder types was higher in deer (66-77%) than sheep (45-62%). Numerically, most of the nutrients from sorghum fodder were better digested than maize except CP and EE. Maize fodder provided a higher percentage of NDF (70.85% vs 67.90%) and ADF (37.22% vs 30.74%) with a digestibility depression of about two units in deer and three to five units in sheep. Deer and sheep lost body weight during both the sorghum (2.0 and 0.7 kg) and the maize (2.5 and 0.4 kg) feeding periods.

CONCLUSION

Although the nutritive value of cereal fodder seemed optimum, a lower voluntary feed intake in both deer and sheep contributed to inadequate nutrient intake compared to standard recommendation.