The first step in ruminal fermentation occurs in the mount with the animal reducing the plant particle size with the molars. In addition, rumination is responsible for further reduction in particle size. These actions serve to increase the surface area of plant particle which allow the bacteria to attach to plant particle.
A symbiotic relationship exists between the host animal and the bacterial species. The host animal supplies a warm, moist environment with substrates introduced and removal of end products of ruminal fermentation. This allows the microbes to break down the fibrous material and produce end products that the animal can utilize.
The microbes will ferment the carbohydrate portion of plants and produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The primary VFAs produced include acetate, propionate and butyrate. In addition, gases are produced including carbon dioxide and methane. The animals can utilize VFAs for energy with an estimated 70 – 80% of the caloric requirements met by VFAs. In addition, other components are fermented in the rumen resulting in production of microbial protein and B vitamins.
May 16 2008 | Article | No Comments »
Horses are frequently housed in facilities that are often designed more for the comfort of the horse owner than for the horse. Horse housing is notoriously poorly ventilated to the point of being air-tight in some cases, and the horses are subjected to breathing poor-quality air. Hence, emphases should be placed on high-quality, dust-free, mold-free hay or cubed or pelleted forage or forage/grain combinations. Fear of fecal contamination of hay and/or grain with the causative organism for equine protozoal myelitis has prompted some horse farm managers to feed all forages and concentrates entirely as bagged cubes, pellets or texturized feeds. The fear of feeding hay and grains from bulk storage may decrease as an effective vaccine is developed for this disease.
May 02 2008 | Article | No Comments »
How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders, Stanchions, and Much More
By Carol Ekarius
Book Description
Cows and horses, donkeys and mules, sheep and goats, pigs and fowl, even llamas are living on small farms and in backyard barnyards throughout the United States. But how and where are these critters being housed?
Author Carol Ekarius knows. In How to Build Animal Housing, she provides dozens of plans–with illustrated, step-by-step instructions–for species-specific shelters that are well ventilated, safe, appropriate for the animals, appealing, convenient, and a solid value for their owners.
The book is essential reading for anyone interested in animal health and welfare. It includes complete plans and step-by-step, illustrated instructions for sheds, coops, hutches, multipurpose barns, and economical easy-to-build windbreaks and shade structures. Ekarius covers new high-tech, portable structures made of plastics and fabrics, such as hoop houses and hen spas, as well as more traditional alternatives, such as straw-bale structures. Always practical, she enumerates the advantages and disadvantages of ready-to-build kits and modular barnyard buildings and includes designs for watering systems, feeders, chutes, stanchions, and more–the essentials that help owners keep their animals healthy and happy.
Ekarius wisely emphasizes the importance of careful planning, choosing an appropriate housing site, and complying with local zoning regulations; pest control, basic housing maintenance, and insurance costs are also discussed. Real-world advice from farmers and veterinarians on the types of housing and facilities animals like best enliven the text throughout.
How to Build Animal Housing is the most comprehensive and useful guide of its kind. For small-scale farmers, hobby farmers, do-it-yourselfers, and animal lovers, this book is indispensable.
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May 01 2008 | Books | No Comments »