Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:35:32.073Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A note on the use of chromium sesquioxide as a marker in nutritional experiments with dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

D. G. Chamberlain  and
P. C. Thomas
D. G. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
The Hannah Research Institute, Ayr KA6 5HL
P. C. Thomas
Affiliation:
The Hannah Research Institute, Ayr KA6 5HL
Get access

Abstract

The faecal recovery of chromium sesquioxide (Cr203) was examined in four experiments with non-lactating Ayrshire cows. In the first experiment Cr203-paper was given intraruminally twice daily to cows receiving a diet of hay. The mean recovery of the marker was 0·829 (s.d., (Mil, no. = 12). In the second experiment the marker was given as Cr203 powder to cows receiving a diet of hay and ground barley. The powder was mixed with the barley part of the diet and given in 24 hourly meals per day. The mean recovery of the marker was 0·944 (s.d., 0·079, no. = 8). In the third experiment cows receiving a hay and barley diet were given Cr203 powder suspended in ground-nut oil administered twice daily through a cannula in the duodenum. The recovery of the marker was 0·980 (s.d., 0·027, no. = 3).

In the fourth experiment ground straw impregnated with Cr203 was used as a marker in cows receiving a hay and barley diet. The marker was mixed with the barley and given in eight meals per day. The faecal recovery of Cr2()3 was 0-941 (s.d., 0·022, no. = 7). It is concluded that when Cr203 is used as an indigestible marker in studies with dairy cows its recovery in faeces may be variable and low due to retention of the marker in the stomach. In digestion studies with cows there are considerable advantages in favour of the use of Cr2()3-impregnated straw rather than Cr203 powder or Cr203-paper.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , February 1983 , pp. 155 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Brisson, G. J., Pigden, W. J. and Sylvestre, P. E. 1957. Effect of frequency of administration of chromic oxide on its fecal excretion pattern by grazing cattle. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 37: 90–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clanton, D. C. 1962. Variation in chromic oxide methods of determining digestibility of hand-fed beef cattle rations. J. Anim. Sci. 21: 214–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, A. C. 1964. Studies on magnesium in ruminant nutrition. 5. The indirect determination of the intake of magnesium, calcium and potassium by the grazing cow. Br. J. Nutr. 18: 357–368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kane, E. A., Jacobson, W. C. and Moore, L. A. 1950. A comparison of techniques used in digestibility studies with dairy cattle. J. Nutr. 41: 583–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kotb, A. R. and Luckey, T. D. 1972. Markers in nutrition. Nutr. Abstr. Rev. 42: 813–845.Google ScholarPubMed
Langlands, J. P., Corbett, J. L., Mcdonald, I. and Reid, G. W. 1963. Estimation of the faeces output of grazing animals from the concentration of chromium sesquioxide in a sample of faeces. 1. Comparison of estimates from samples taken at fixed times of day with faeces outputs measured directly. Br. J. Nutr. 17: 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macrae, J. C. 1974. The use of intestinal markers to measure digestive function in ruminants. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 33: 147–154.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minson, D. J. and Cowper, J. L. 1966. Diurnal variations in the excretion of faeces and urine by sheep fed once daily or at hourly intervals. Br. J. Nutr. 20: 757–764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, P. C., Chamberlain, D. G., Kelly, N. C. and Wait, M. K. 1980. The nutritive value of silages. Digestion of nitrogenous constituents in sheep receiving diets of grass silage and grass silage and barley. Br. J. Nutr. 43: 469–479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uden, P., Colucci, P. E. and Van soest, P. J. 1980. Investigation of chromium, cerium and cobalt as markers in digesta rate of passage studies. J. Sci. Fd Agric. 31: 625–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Utley, P. R., Boling, J. A., Bradley, N. W. and Tucker, R. E. 1970. Recovery of radioactive chromic oxide from the bovine gastrointestinal tract. J. Nutr. 100: 1227–1231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed