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Indigestion in Young Calves. II. The Influence Of Ground Barley, Coarse and Fine Hay
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 18, pages 416–425 (1977)
Abstract
Four experiments comprising 86 calves have been carried out in order to examine the influence of ground barley, coarse and fine hay, when raising young calves on a high lactose milk replacer causing diarrhoea. The frequency of diarrhoea decreased when feeding barley (P < 0.01) or fine hay (P < 0.001), but increased when feeding coarse hay (P<0.01). Barley increased (P < 0.01) live weight gain and carcass weight, reduced (P < 0.001) rumen pH, favoured gram-positive cocci and rods in the rumen, caused hyperkeratosis and gave increased (P < 0.01) empty reticulo-rumen weights, the latter being supposed to be enhanced by hyperkeratosis. The calves ate more (P < 0.001) fine than coarse hay, fine hay being superior (P < 0.01) in promoting growth of the rumen. All hay maintained a predominantly gram-negative rumen flora, but somewhat different from that on the milk replacer, and counteracted (P < 0.01) low pH in the rumen and apparently also hyperkeratosis due to barley. The results with barley indicated no relationship between diarrhoea and hyperkeratosis.
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Acknowledgment
We wish to thank the Agricultural Research Council of Norway for financial aid, Peter M}øller A/S for lending us facilities for 1 experiment and providing most of the ingredients used in the milk replacer, Wessels Kabelfabrikk A/S for providing the fine hay FH 2, and The Government’s Agricultural Control Station, Moss, for analysing the feedstuffs.
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Laksesυela, B., Slagsυold, P., Krogh, N. et al. Indigestion in Young Calves. II. The Influence Of Ground Barley, Coarse and Fine Hay. Acta Vet Scand 18, 416–425 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548439
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548439