During the last few years there has been increasing interest in the potential role of alternative forages in dairy cow rations based on grass silage. In this context, whole crop cereals, particularly wheat (WCW) treated with urea (40 g/kg DM), have more recently received considerable attention within the farming community. This is in spite of the fact that research experience of the potential of whole crop wheat as a forage component for dairy cow rations is limited.

In order to provide general background information on the practical application of this approach, eight farms were surveyed on wheat crop husbandry, harvesting and preservation. Nutritional quality of the resultant forages was also assessed. Additional observations on crop losses during harvesting and feeding were undertaken at the Bernard Weitz Centre.

Interest in the feeding of whole-crop wheat silage has been on the increase (Newman, 1990) but to fully exploit its potential, whole-crop wheat has to be harvested at advanced stages of growth (dough stage). The objective was to assess the feeding value of whole-crop winter wheat silage harvested at two stages of growth and treated with two commercial (Finnish Sugar Co. Ltd., Helsinki) cellulase and hemi-cellulase mixtures (Clampzyme [CLZ] and FS02 [FS2]).

Doubts have been expressed about the aerobic stability of whole-crop cereal silages. Urea and ammonia additives have proved effective in controlling aerobic deterioration (Deschard et al., 1988). The aim was to evaluate the effects of two commercially-produced (Finnish Sugar Co. Ltd., Helsinki) cellulase and hemicellulase mixtures (Clampzyme [CLZ] and Deezyme [DEZ]) on fermentation and aerobic stability of winter-sown wheat (cv Brock), harvested at four stages of growth.

The experiment was of 4 x 2 x 4 x 2 factorial design. The crop was direct-cut harvested (precision chopped) and ensiled for 150 days in mini-silos (polypropylene sack enclosed in polyethene sack; 5.0 kg dry matter (DM) of crop; plastic-strip seals). Harvesting was at 4 moisture-content (g DM/kg) stages of growth: cut 1, 300 (heading); cut 2, 400 (mealy); cut 3, 500 (soft/medium dough); cut 4, 650 (hard dough). Enzymes were applied at 4 levels: 0, 0.3, 0.7 and 1.0 1/tonne (t) DM for CLZ and 0, 1.0, 1.3 and 1.7 1/t DM for DEZ. Silos were either evacuated and sealed immediately (IMM) or sealed after 24 h (DEL).

Harvesting cereals in whole-crop form and conserving them by ensilage, has potential benefits compared to conventional cereal harvesting systems in terms of a lesser dependence on weather conditions and higher animal production per hectare. Three experiments were carried out to determine the performance of cattle offered whole-crop barley silage harvested at an immature stage of development.

Whole-crop barley was harvested using a precision chop harvester in each experiment and intakes were recorded on a group basis in Experiments 2 and 3. In Experiment 1, winter barley was harvested either on June 17 (Cut 1 - grain at milky stage) or July 6 (Cut 2 -grain at mealy stage). Groups of seven Friesian steers (503 kg mean starting weight) were offered either Cut 1 or Cut 2 silage ad libitum for 95 days supplemented with one of the following supplements per head daily : (a) none, (b) 3 kg rolled barley, (c) 3 kg barley/soya (154 g crude protein (CP)/kg DM) and (d) 1 kg soyabean (470 g CP/kg DM).

Whole crop wheat (WCW) is a relatively new crop as a feed for dairy cows, and little information is available on its dry matter yield and nutritive value relative to stage of growth at harvest. Also, the role of urea (which hydrolyses to ammonia in the crop) addition in reducing fermentation and aerobic spoilage losses has not been investigated.

The aim of this experiment was to examine three stages of growth at harvest for WCW, with and without urea.

An area of winter wheat (cv Fortress) was cut (5 cm above ground) at three growth stages (GS 49, 71 and 87). The resultant forages were chopped through a precision-chop harvester and stored in air-tight barrels of 0.225 m3 capacity. Urea was added at 0 and 40 g/kgDM at each stage of growth and there were three replicates of each treatment. Thermocouples placed centrally were used to monitor temperature changes. The mini silos held approximately 100 kg of forages and they were opened after 90 days. Vertical cores were taken as samples and the mini silos were left open for a further 18 days to assess aerobic deterioration.

Previous studies with whole crop wheat (WCW) fed to dairy cows (Hill and Leaver, 1990) showed that high intakes were achieved relative to liveweight when offered as the sole forage, but there appeared to be a poor utilisation of the ME intake. The reasons for this have not been clarified, but the very high intake of ammonia could be a predisposing cause. The place for WCW is therefore likely to be as a proportion of the total forage. The high pH should make it an ideal complement for silage.

The objective of this experiment was to replace part of the WCW intake with grass silage.

Feeding urea treated whole crop wheat (WCW) to calves in the spring as an alternative to grazing has the potential advantage of releasing grassland for silage or for cropping. The higher yield/ha of whole crop wheat compared with grass makes this feasible.

The objective of this experiment was to examine the intake and performance of calves in the spring, on conventional grazing, on whole crop wheat and on a combination of the two.

Previous studies (Castejon and Leaver, 1990) with heifers of 350 kg liveweight showed whole crop wheat (WCW) treated with 40 kg urea/t DM had a DOMD of 654 g/kg, and 8% of grain in the crop was excreted in the faeces. Morgan and Campling (1978) have shown that age of animal influences the digestibility of cereal grains.

The objective of the present trial was to examine the intake, digestibility and liveweight gain of three sizes of heifer with and without supplementation.

Aboud et al (1990) found that intake and selection of sorghum stover (i.e. straw) by Ethiopian sheep increased as the ad libitum amounts offered (g/kg mass[M].day[d]) were increased from 25 to 50 and 75. The greater intakes resulted in improved growth rates. In view of the importance of goats in smallholder tropical-agriculture and the fact that goats are considered to be selective feeders, the present experiment compared the response of goats and sheep when offered increasing ad libitum quantities of sorghum stover.

Sorghum (bird-resistant variety Seredo) was grown at Melkassa in the Rift Valley. Fourteen days after hand-harversting of grain in November 1988, stover was hand-cut and transported to the ILCA Station at Debre-Zeit. The stover was chopped (tractor-mounted Alvan Blanch Maxi Chaff Cutter) and stored for one month before feeding. Twenty four Galla bucks (11-13 months old) and twenty four Ethiopian Lowand rams (14-16 months old) were used in the 2 x 3 factorial experiment with 8 replicates.

Aboud et al (1990) found that intake and selectivity of sorghum stover by Ethiopian sheep increased as the ad 1ibitum amounts offered (g/kg mass[M].day[d]) were increased from 25 to 50 and 75; the largest improvement in intake occurred with increasing the amount offered from 25 to 50 g/kg M.d. In the study by Aboud et al (1990), the stover offered was in chopped form. The present study investigated the effect of chopping per se, with stover offered at 25 or 50 g/kg M.d.

Following hand-harvesting of sorghum grain (non bird-resistant variety Dinkamash) in mid-November 1989, the stover (straw) was hand-cut from the field in mid-January 1990 and stored indoors until feeding in May. Forty eight Menz Highland rams of 17.2 kg initial M and ca.15 months of age were fed 113 g dry matter [DM]/ram.d of cottonseed cake and ad libitum sorghum stover over 56 d; salt licks were also provided.

Ricepolishings produced in the final milling process of white rice production, are a potentially useful and readily available, but underused by-product in Colombia. There is a considerable interest in assessing their value as a feed supplement for ruminant animals. The aim of this study was to assess their nutritive value by the use of chemical analysis, the in vitro menke gas test and in sacco dacron bag techniques.

Duplicate samples of Colombian ricepolishings (CRP) were analysed for proximate constituents and to determine the concentrations of fatty acids and amino acids in the fat and protein respectively.

In the menke gas test, dietary preparations containing either CRP or a mixture (0.41 and 0.59 of dried grass and medium quality hay respectively) DGH, were studied in the following ratios: 1.0 CRP: 0.0 DGH (A); 0.80 CRP: 0.2 DGH(B); 0.6 CRP: 0.4 DGH (C); 0.4 CRP: 0.6 DGH (D) 0.2 CRP: 0.80 DGH (E) and 0.0 CRP: 1.0 DGH (F).

The vitamin E (Vit E) requirement of the neonatal calf is largely dependent upon its dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) The PUFA content of neonatal calf plasma is low, the plasma triene:tetraene ratio of approximately 0.96 suggests a possible essential fatty acid deficiency, however within 3-4 days postpartum the ratio is markedly reduced to approximately 0.12 (Noble 1984). In spring-calving cows turned out to grass just prior to calving the sudden change to a diet rich in PUFA has a significant influence on the PUFA content of colostrum and milk and thus the Vit E requirement of the newborn calf. A study was conducted to examine the effects of different dietary ratios of Vit E to C18:2 on the growth performance; immunoglobulin status; fatty acid and retinol, Vit E and β-carotene profiles of blood plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids (EML), and lipid oxidation of erythrocyte membranes. The effect of turn-out to grass on cow plasma fatty acid composition was also studied. The preliminary results of this study are presented below.

The growing need to diversify animal agriculture in the UK has increased interest in the production of Fibre and meat from goats. Protein supplements are among the most expensive of feed ingredients in animals ration and the efficiency of protein utilization is of considerable importance in the economical production of animal products such as meat, Fibre or milk. Previous studies (e.g. Huston etal, 1971; Huston, 1980 in the USA; Shahjalal et al, 1990a in the UK) have suggested that protein supplementation can influence growth rate and fibre characteristics of Angora goats. The aim of the work reported here was to provide more detailed information on the effect of level of protein supplementation on growth performance, carcass yield and fibre characteristics of British Angora goats.

There is an increasing need for information on the involvement of micronutrients in the nutrition of goats under UK conditions and in particular the role of copper. There is particular interest in the interaction of copper (Cu) with molybdenum (Mo) and sulphur (S) which can form complexes which affect Cu absorption from the digestive tract and post-absorption bioavailability to metabolic sites (Gooneratne et al,1989). While there is considerable information in this subject area for sheep and cattle, information on goats is limited. The objective of the work reported here was to investigate the response of Angora goats to a basal diet with adequate Cu and S, and this diet supplemented with Mo at two concentrations.

There is a developing interest in the use of fibre-producing goats in the United Kingdom. Information on nutritional requirements under UK conditions and for different genotypes of goats is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate further the role of dietary protein in determining the yield and quality of (a) mohair Fibre and (b) meat with emphasis on fat composition in Angora goats.

Ten Texan cross male castrate Angora goats aged about 10 months and weighing 21.6 kg initially were used. They were individually penned and allocated to good quality diets containing (per kg dry matter (DM)) approximately 10 MJ metabolisable energy and either 110 (LP) or 178 (HP) g crude protein. The diets were restricted to intakes of 37 g/kg liveweight (LW) and the study lasted for 70 days. The goats were weighed weekly and food intake was recorded daily. Blood samples were collected pre-feeding by jugular venepuncture at approximately 0900 hrs on day 0, 35 and 70 and at 07.30,09.00,10.30,12.00 and 13.00 hrs on day 63.

Excessive human consumption of saturated fatty acids and possibly cholesterol is thought to increase the risk of occlusive vascular disease. This has focused attention on ruminant tissues which tend to contain high proportions of saturated fatty acids compared with other meat species, although their cholesterol contents are reported to be quite similar. However, there have been claims, apparently unsubstantiated, that vension has a low cholesterol content and is a healthy food. The aims of this study were to determine the cholesterol contents of muscle and adipose tissue of deer and to investigate their relationship to carcass fatness and tissue fatty acid composition, particularly as venison lipids are reported to be very high saturated.

Urolithiasis is the formation of stones (or calculi) within the urinary system. Such ‘stones’ may result in urethral or ureteral obstruction. Most uroliths found in goats are composed of magnesium ammonium phospate or calcium magnesium phosphate and, while the chemistry of urolith formation is not fully understood, high concentrate diets, inadequate water intake and alkaline urine are all thought to be conducive to their development. Urolithiasis is normally only a problem in castrate males and Angora goats appear to be particularly susceptible.

It has been reported (Bell, 1959) that goats are sensitive to ‘sweet’ and ‘sour’ tastes and that their consumption of flavoured water is higher than that of plain water. This trial investigated the effects of water additives on water consumption, and on urine production and composition, to determine whether such additives might offer a means of reducing some of the factors predisposing towards urolithiasis.

It is commonly held that goats prefer their water ‘warm’ and that consumption may be encouraged by offering warmed water. Conversely, it is argued that water intake may go down if water is ‘too cold.’ There are, however, few data available and no definition of what constitutes ‘warm’ or ‘cold’ in the eyes of a goat. This trial was undertaken to provide some data in an attempt to confirm or refuse these conventional wisdoms.

The efficient use of forages for milk production by dairy goats requires reliable estimates of the responses in intake and milk production to concentrate supplementation. Based on the results of experiments with dairy cows, two factors of particular importance are likely to be amount of concentrates and quality of the protein.

The breeding of doe kids is clearly attractive if it enables the generation interval in a breeding programme to be reduced.

It is important for the health and welfare of the goats that breeding at such a young age reaches a successful conclusion. Furthermore it is vital that it does not jeopardize the successive pregnancies and future lifetime performance of both dam and offspring. However, there are currently no guidelines for minimum liveweight at mating for these young goats.

This paper describes the result of an investigation into the effects of breeding cashmere doe kids on their subsequent performance.