Effect of feeding Yucca schidigera extract and a live yeast on the rumen microbiome and performance of dairy cows fed a diet excess in rumen degradable nitrogen

Nitrogen (N) loss from livestock agriculture via ammonia and nitrous oxide can reduce feed efficiency, production and negatively affect the environment. One option to reduce N loss is to add dietary supplements such as Yucca schidigera extract which has ammonia-binding properties and contains antimicrobial steroidal saponins, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, which can stabilise rumen pH and promote fibre degradation, increasing microbial growth and demand for degradable N. To determine the effect of Yucca schidigera extract when fed alone or in combination with a live yeast on the performance, rumen metabolism, microbiome and N balance, six rumen cannulated dairy cows were fed a mixed ration (C), mixed ration with Y. schidigera extract (De-Odorase®, Alltech®; 5 g/cow/day; D), or mixed ration with Y. schidigera extract (5 g/day) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yea-Sacc®, Alltech®, 1 g/cow per day; DY), in a 3 × 3 Latin rectangle design study with three periods of 49-day duration. Digesta samples were collected via the ruminal cannula during the final week of each period and separated into liquid (LPD) and solid (SPD) phases for microbiome analysis using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. DM intake was 0.8 kg/d lower (P < 0.05) in cows fed DY than C or D, with milk protein concentration 1.7 g/kg higher in C than D or DY. There was a beta diversity (Bray Curtis) clustering of the LPD in cows fed D or DY compared to C (P < 0.05), driven by an increase in Prevotella ruminicola-related operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and a decrease in P. brevis and P. bryantii OTUs. A methanogen OTU, Methanobrevibacter olleyae, was decreased in cows fed D or DY and an unclassified species of Gammaproteobacteria was increased in DY (LDA > 2.0, P < 0.05) compared to C. Rumen pH, ammonia and total VFA concentration were not affected by treatment (P > 0.05) but the concentration of propionate and iso-butyrate were lower at 1700 and 2000 h in cows fed DY compared to C (P < 0.05). Measurements of N balance were unaffected by supplementation with D or DY, and there was no effect of treatment on slurry pH. In conclusion, supplementing with an extract of Yucca schidigera either alone or in combination with a live yeast had only a small effect on performance, with Yucca schidigera altering species associated with carbohydrate and protein metabolism, and reduced Methanobrevibacter olleyae which is involved in methanogenesis.

Performance and environmental impact of egg production in response to dietary supplementation of mannan oligosaccharide in laying hens: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of supplementing mannan oligosaccharide (MOS; Bio-Mos, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, KY) in the diets of laying hens on the performance and environmental impact of egg production. Data on production performance (feed intake, hen-day production [HDP], feed conversion ratio [FCR], and mortality) and egg quality attributes (egg weight, egg mass, and eggshell thickness) were extracted from 18 studies to build a database of comparisons between nonsupplemented diets (control) and diets supplemented with MOS. A total of 4,664 laying hens were involved in the comparisons and the average MOS dosage and age of hens were 0.97 kg/ton and 44 wk, respectively. The dataset was analyzed using the random-effects model to estimate the effect size of MOS supplementation on production performance and egg quality attributes. The impact of feeding MOS on the carbon footprint (feed and total emission intensities) of egg production was evaluated by using the meta-analysis results of production performance to develop a scenario simulation that was analyzed by a life cycle assessment (LCA) model. Overall pooled effect size (raw mean difference) indicated that MOS supplementation did not affect feed intake. In contrast, HDP increased by +1.76% and, FCR and mortality reduced by -26.64 g feed/kg egg and -2.39%, respectively. Dietary MOS did not influence egg weight while egg mass increased (P < 0.01) by +0.95 g/day/hen and eggshell thickness tended to increase (P = 0.07) by +0.05 mm. Subgroup analysis indicated that dietary MOS exhibited consistent improvement on HDP and FCR under several study factors (age of hens, number of hens, production challenges, MOS dosage, and study duration). Additionally, the simulated LCA revealed that supplementing MOS decreased feed and total emission intensities of egg production by -1.3 and -1.5%, respectively. Overall, dietary supplementation of MOS at 1.0 kg/ton improved the production performance of laying hens and reduced the carbon footprint and, therefore, can enhance the sustainability credentials of egg production.

Effect of total replacement of inorganic with organic sources of key trace minerals on performance and health of high producing dairy cows

The aim of this trial was to compare the effect of complete replacement of certain inorganic trace minerals with organic, chelated minerals (Bioplex®, Selplex®; Alltech Inc, USA) against standard and reduced inorganic mineral levels in feed on the performance and health of dairy cows during a 10-week trial (W0-W10) period. Three treatment groups, each containing 36 dairy cows, were assigned to one of three diets that varied only in mineral feed composition: (1) Inorganic (CON) Cu (1,042 mg/kg), Se (26 mg/kg) and Zn (4,200 mg/kg) as per normal industry inclusion levels; (2) Inorganic (INORG) Cu (-35%: 680 mg/kg), Se (-60%; 10 mg/kg) and Zn (-66%; 1,360 mg/kg) (based on the lower organic levels in diet 3); and (3) Organic (proteinates and selenium-enriched yeast) minerals (ORG) Cu, Se and Zn as per INORG levels. The cows in the ORG group had the highest milk yield (32.6 kg; P=0.0165) with the INORG group the least (31.3 kg), production (energy corrected milk 31.5 kg (P=0.008) vs CON 31.0 kg and INORG 30.7 kg), protein synthesis (ORG 1,024 g/d (P<0.0001) vs CON 1,013 g/d and INORG 982 g/d) and ORG had the highest (P<0.01) milk lactose content. There were no differences between treatments in plasma Zn, Cu and GSH-PXE levels. Pregnancy rate and number of artificial insemination services appeared improved. Mastitis rates were lowest for the ORG group (two cows affected), vs four cows for the INORG group and six cows for the CON group. Somatic cell counts were consistently lower in the ORG cows (P<0.05), being less than 300,000 cell counts, compared to peaks of 380,000 counts in the INORG and 550,000 counts in the CON groups. Five cows were affected by lameness in the INORG group, compared to three for the CON and one in the ORG groups.

Influence of rate of inclusion of microalgae on the sensory characteristics and fatty acid composition of cheese and performance of dairy cows

Modification of milk and cheese fat to contain long-chain n-3 fatty acids (FA) by feeding microalgae (ALG) to dairy cows has the potential to improve human health, but the subsequent effect on the sensory attributes of dairy products is unclear. The objective was to determine the effect of feeding dairy cows different amounts of ALG that was rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on milk and cheese FA profile, cheese sensory attributes, and cow performance. Twenty Holstein dairy cows were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments in a 4 × 4 row and column design, with 4 periods of 28 d, with cheddar cheese production and animal performance measurements undertaken during the final 7 d of each period. Cows were fed a basal diet that was supplemented with ALG (Schizochytrium limancinum) at 4 rates: 0 (control, C), 50 (LA), 100 (MA), or 150 g (HA) of ALG per cow per day. We found that both milk and cheese fat content of DHA increased linearly with ALG feed rate and was 0.29 g/100 g FA higher in milk and cheese from cows fed HA compared with C. Supplementation with ALG linearly reduced the content of saturated FA and the ratio of n-6:n-3 FA in milk and cheese. Supplementation with ALG altered 20 out of the 32 sensory attributes, with a linear increase in cheese air holes, nutty flavor, and dry mouth aftertaste with ALG inclusion. Creaminess of cheese decreased with ALG inclusion rate and was positively correlated with saturated FA content. We also observed a quadratic effect on fruity odor, which was highest in cheese from cows fed HA and lowest in LA, and firmness and crumbliness texture, being highest in MA and lowest in HA. Supplementation with ALG had no effect on the dry matter intake, milk yield, or live weight change of the cows, with mean values of 23.1, 38.5, and 0.34 kg/d respectively, but milk fat content decreased linearly, and energy-corrected milk yield tended to decrease linearly with rate of ALG inclusion (mean values of 39.6, 38.4, 37.1, and 35.9 g/kg, and 41.3, 41.3, 40.5, and 39.4 kg/d for C, LA, MA, and HA, respectively). We conclude that feeding ALG to high-yielding dairy cows improved milk and cheese content of DHA and altered cheese taste but not cow performance, although milk fat content reduced as inclusion rate increased.