Rumen Contents and Ruminal Digesta Particle Size Distribution in Buffalo Steers Fed Three Different Size of Alfalfa

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of three sizes of alfalfa and time post-feeding on rumen contents and on particle size distribution of ruminal digesta. Three ruminally fistulated buffalo steers received a diet consisting just alfalfa that was harvested at 15% of flowering and chopped in three sizes. Individual small rectangular bales were chopped with a forage field harvester for theoretical cut length 19 and 10 mm for preparation of long and medium particle size, also the fine particles were prepared by milling. The geometric means and its standard deviation were 8.5, 5.5 and 2.5 mm; and 1.24, 1.16 and 1.06 mm, in coarse, medium and fine, respectively. The experimental design was a repeated 3×3 Latin squares with 21 day periods. The diets were offered twice daily at 09:00 and 21:00 h at ad libitum level. The rumens were evacuated manually at 3, 7.5 and 12h post-feeding and total ruminal contents separated into mat and bailable liquids. Dry matter weight distribution of total recovered particles was determined by a wet-sieving procedure and used to partition ruminal mat and bailable liquids among percentages of large (≥4.0 mm), medium (<4.0mm and ≥1.18 mm), and fine (<1.18 mm and ≥0.05 mm) particles. Intake did not influence markedly the distribution of different particle fractions, whereas particle size and time post-feeding had a pronounced effect. With increasing time after feeding, percentage of large and medium particles significantly decreased, whereas the percentage of fine particles significantly increased. The ruminal digesta particle distributions illustrated intensive particle breakdown in the reticulo-rumen for coarse particle more than others. Dry matter contents and the proportion of particulate dry matter in the rumen increased as intake increased, i.e. ruminal mat increased at the expense of bailable liquids. It can be concluded that reduction of forage particle size for buffaloes at maintenance level, influences the structure of rumen contents, ruminal mat formation and consistency, ruminal pH, the mass of ruminal escapable and non escapable dry matter pool size.

Key words:

• Ruminal digesta
• Ruminal mat consistency
• Particle size
• Buffalo