Ground Oats Research Articles

Whole Soybeans for Market Lambs

The use of nonprocessed soybeans as a protein supplement in market lamb diets was investigated using N balance-digestion and feedlot trials. The N balance-digestion trial was a 4  4 Latinsquare design using four Dorset  Finn wethers (mean wt 34.5 kg). Treatments were: 0% soybean meal: 100% whole soybean; 50% soybean meal: 50% whole soybean; 75% soybean meal: 25% whole soybean; and 100% soybean meal: 0% whole soybean as protein supplements added to a diet based on orchardgrass hay, ground oats and ground corn. During each of four periods, wethers were fed at 4% of body weight for 14 d of dietary adaptation followed by 7 d of total urine and feces collection during whic h 90% of dry matter consumed during the adaptation was fed. Apparent digestibilities of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and N, and ruminal fluid ammonia concentrations were not affected by treatment, but dry matter intake was less (P .05) for the lambs fed diets containing varying proportions of whole soybeans; however, values tended to be lower for the 100% whole soybean diet. Serum urea N was higher (P<.05) for the 50% whole soybean treatment than for the 0 and 25% whole soybean treatments. A randomized complete block design was used to evaluate the effects of whole soybeans on average daily gain using 48 crossbred ram and ewe lambs (mean initial wt 22.7 kg). Twenty-four lambs were fed diets containing soybean meal or whole soybeans as the protein supplement. Lambs were fed at 4% of mean pen weight (dry matter basis). The feedlot trial results indicated that lambs receiving soybean meal as the protein supplement had higher (P<.01) average daily gains (.27 kg/d) than lambs receiving whole soybeans (.23 kg/d). Results are interpreted to indicate that whole soybeans can replace soybean meal as a protein supplement but growth rates may be less. (Key Words: Lambs, Digestion, Feedlots, Soybean Oilmeal, Soybeans.)

Improvement of raw potato starch digestion in chickens by feeding oat hulls and other fibrous feedstuffs

Ground oat hulls significantly improved the digestion of raw potato starch for male broiler chickens. The improvement was dependent upon the level of oat hulls in the diet and the size of the oat hull particles. Rice hulls and barley hulls were as effective as oat hulls in improving raw potato starch digestion when fibre particles were larger than 1 mm in length. Wheat bran and hemicelluloses isolated from oat hulls had no effect on starch digestion. The improvement in raw potato starch digestion was accompanied by an accumulation of fibre in the gizzard and muscular hypertrophy of this organ. Broken raw potato starch granules were also observed in the gizzard contents.

Inocula of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. Tritici for field and glasshouse studies

The food reserves of whole oat-grain inoculum of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt) are unrealistically large compared to infective propagules in field situations, so in this study we examined the infectivity of different sized fractions of the ground oat inoculum. Minimum disease was obtained with the fraction <0.25mm dia and maximum disease with the 0.71–1.0 mm fraction. Alternative forms of Ggt inoculum were developed and tested. Attapulgite amended with nutrient solution and seeds of ryegrass, millet and oats were colonized by Ggt and assessed in glasshouse experiments as forms of inoculum of the pathogen. Inocula in ryegrass and millet seed were also assessed in field trials. Attapulgite colonized by Ggt produced infection but had no effect on shoot growth of wheat seedlings in a glasshouse experiment. Both ryegrass and millet seed-borne propagules of Ggt reduced shoot weight of wheat seedlings in a glasshouse experiment. Increasing inoculum densities of ryegrass seed inoculum in glasshouse experiments and of ryegrass or millet seed inocula in field experiments produced dose responses in disease, plant growth and grain yield. Transmission electron microscopy of the different forms of inoculum showed that most of the hyphae of Ggt in attapulgite were moribund, whereas hyphae in the seed inocula were viable and contained many lipid droplets and melanin particles.

Observations on the introduction of Verticillium chlamydosporium and other parasitic fungi into soil for control of the cereal cyst‐nematode Heterodera avenue

SUMMARYIsolates of Verticillium chlamydosporium and a sterile fungus added to soil on ground oat grain reduced the numbers of Heterodera avenae on wheat by between 26 and 80%. Nematode populations in uninoculated soil increased from 15 eggs/g soil before planting to 218 eggs/g after harvest. V. chlamydosporium was isolated from oat grain that had been air‐dried and milled before introduction into soil. Applications of the fungi on attapulgite clay or as suspensions of mycelium and spores in water had no effect on nematode multiplication. The effect of the fungi on numbers of H. avenae eggs was similar in autoclaved and non‐sterilised soil. V. chlamydosporium added on attapulgite clay to a calcareous sand and a calcareous silty loam could be re‐isolated after at least 6 months. Some isolates colonised the roots of wheat without causing lesions or affecting the dry weights of shoots or roots. These results indicate that V. chlamydosporium may be useful for the biological control of cyst nematode pests.

Growth of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici in soil in the presence and absence of wheat roots

The distance over which hyphae of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt) grow towards wheat roots in soil was examined by using an inoculum and a plant chamber. Gauze between the two chambers permitted hyphal growth from the inoculum chamber into the plant chamber but prevented roots growing into the inoculum chamber. In soil fumigated with methyl bromide, hyphae of Ggt from ground oat inoculum grew 6–9 mm in 15 days and 9–14 mm in 28 days to colonize seminal roots of wheat and cause lesions. In natural soil, hyphae from inocula up to 9–14 mm from roots colonized them in 15 days. Lesions were formed only from hyphae growing from inocula up to 8 mm from roots. At similar distances between roots and inocula, the hyphal density on roots in natural soil was less than in fumigated soil. In the absence of wheat roots, hyphae of Ggt grew up to 5 mm from inocula in fumigated soil and up to 2 mm in natural soil.

A note on intake and digestibility of a fibrous diet self fed to primiparous sows

ABSTRACTIn an attempt to establish an ad libitum, labour saving feeding system 12 Large White primiparous sows were used to investigate the effects on food intake and digestibility of including oat husks in a conventional concentrate diet. The diet contained 500 g ground oat husks per kg diet and was compared with the undiluted concentrate given in restricted amounts during pregnancy (1·8 kg/day) and lactation (5·4 kg/day). The mean daily food intakes for the oat husk diet were 5·50 and 6·29 kg during pregnancy and lactation respectively. The apparent digestibility of the dry matter of the oat husk diet (0·58) was significantly lower than that of the concentrate (0·80), but values for apparent digestibility of nitrogen were similar (0·77 and 0·78, respectively).

The Effects of Feed Input and Excreta Collection Time on Estimates of Metabolic Plus Endogenous Energy Losses in the Bioassay for True Metabolizable Energy

Ground oats and dehydrated alfalfa, both in the form of crumbs, were placed in the crops of fasted adult cockerels acclimatized to continuous light. The single inputs were 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 g of each feed to each of 6 birds; an additional 12 birds received no feed. The cumulative excreta energy was measured for each bird 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 hr after feed input. Six hours after feeding there was little effect of feed input level on weight of excreta output, but as time progressed a regression on feed input developed. At first this was approximately linear over only the lower part of the input range, curving downward at higher input levels. The range of linearity gradually extended to all input levels, reaching this stage by 48 hr for oats and by 60 hr for alfalfa. The downward curvature was attributed to incomplete clearance of feed residues.Tests of the validity of the TME assay are usually made using linear regression models. The data illustrate the importance of preliminary tests for nonlinearity and are used to exemplify the statistical procedure for comparing intercepts of lines having different slopes. When conditions were such that there was no curvature, the intercepts did not differ significantly (P>.40) nor did they differ from the mean for unfed birds (P>.80). The same tests on earlier data for 12 feedingstuffs gave similar results.Differences among intercepts of the regression lines have been reported as evidence that the metabolic plus endogenous energy loss varies with the neutral detergent fiber content of the feedingstuff. Possible reasons for such apparent differences are discussed.

The Influence of Body Weight Restriction During the Growing and Holding Periods on Reproduction of Turkey Females from Strains Differing in Body Weight

Three strains of turkey hens differing in body weight were fed either a control (C) diet or a high fiber (H) diet containing 69% ground oat hulls from 16 to 40 (Hatch 2) or to 42 (Hatch 1) weeks of age. The strains were a randombred control (RBC2), a subline of RBC2 selected for increased 16-week body weight (F), and a subline of F selected for increased egg production (FE). Egg production during a 120-day production period and fertility, hatchability, and poults produced during a 12-week hatching period were measured. The weight of parts of the alimentary canal and the follicular production by the ovary were measured during the early part of the laying period.Feeding the high fiber diet resulted in a 12 to 14% decrease in body weight at 26 weeks of age. Although significant strain × diet interactions for body weight were present during the body weight restriction period, the differences among the strains in response to feeding a high fiber diet were small and probably of little consequence. Feeding a high fiber diet resulted in an increase in the weight of the crop plus thoracic esophagus, proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine, and large intestine plus ceca but had no significant effect on 120-day egg production, fertility, hatchability, number of poults produced per hen, or egg weight.The weights of the proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine, and of the total alimentary canal were smaller in the larger F and FE strains than in the smaller RBC2 strain when expressed as percent of body weight. The weight of the gizzard was also smaller in the larger strains when expressed as actual weight.

Dietary nitrogen concentration in growing cattle: the effect on growth rate, feed utilization and body composition

ABSTRACTThirty-six British Friesian castrated male cattle (steers) were included in an experiment to measure the response in live-weight gain and body composition to feeding barley-based diets containing increasing levels of formaldehyde-treated soya bean meal. The response was measured between 100 kg and 350 kg or 450 kg live weight. The basal diet of pelleted whole barley and 10% ground oat straw contained 16·6g to 38·5 g nitrogen per kg dry matter. There were no overall differences in live-weight gain or in feed intake. Between 100 kg and 250 kg live weight, live-weight gain increased significantly from 1 08 to 1·24 kg/day when the lowest and highest nitrogen diets respectively were fed (P&lt;0·05). Animals given the highest nitrogen diets also consumed significantly more feed (P&lt;0·05). Conversely, in the subsequent growth period between 250kg and 350kg live weight, live-weight gain decreased from 109 to 0·89 kg/day when the highest nitrogen diet was fed. There were no significant differences in feed intake.Groups of four animals per treatment were slaughtered at 365 kg and 465 kg fasted live weight. When animals were fed 23·7 g nitrogen per kg dry matter and slaughtered at 365 kg fasted live weight there was significantly more omental fat (P&lt;0·05) and the fat depth at the 12th rib was greater than in animals fed the higher levels of nitrogen. The differences in omental fat weight between the 23·7 g nitrogen and 16·6g nitrogen per kg dry matter diets were not significant. The proportion of crude protein (nitrogen × 6·25) in the boneless 9-10-1 lth rib of animals fed 23·7 g nitrogen per kg dry matter was the lowest of all diets and significantly less than the two highest nitrogen diets (P&lt;0·05). When similar animals were slaughtered at 465kg there was a non-significant trend for omental fat weight and fat depth at the 12th rib to decrease as the nitrogen content of the diet increased.

Whey, steam rolled or whole oats, and fishmeal or meat and bone scraps for weaned pigs (1981)

In two feeding trials, the use of whey, steam rolled or ground oats, fishmeal or meat and bone scraps in starter diets for the weaned pig was evaluated. In Trial I, pigs fed the basal corn-soybean meal diet gained 5% slower than pigs fed diets containing 8.75% whey, with either 8.75% steam rolled or ground oats and 2.5% fishmeal or meat and bone scraps. The pounds of feed required per pound of gain were similar for all diets, resulting in the cheapest gain with the corn-soybean meal basal diet. In Trial II, 192 lighter pigs were used (13 to 24 lbs., initial weight) with similar results. No significant difference was observed in rate of gain, average daily feed intake, or feed efficiency when whey, steamed rolled or ground oats, or fishmeal or meat and bone scraps were added to the basal ration. All diets contained approximately 17.5% crude protein, 1.08% lysine, .88% calcium, and .75% phosphorus. No beneficial effect seemingly is gained using more expensive feedstuffs (steam rolled oats and fishmeal) than more common feeds (ground oats and meat and bone scraps). The cheapest feed. cost per lb. of gain in both trials was observed with the basal corn-soybean meal fortified diet.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 12, 1981

Influence of fiber sources on weaned pigs' performance (1980)

Yorkshire pigs weaned at 5 to 6 weeks and averaging 25 lb were used to determine effects of diets with increased fiber from ground oats, wheat bran, alfalfa meal, or dried beet pulp on performance and diarrhea. The basal diet (corn-soybean meal fortified) contained 2.2% crude fiber; the diets using more fibrous feeds contained 3.9% fiber. Average daily gains on the basal and fiber diets were similar, as were the pounds of feed per pound of gain. Pigs fed the ground oats and wheat bran diets had slightly better fecal scores than those fed the other diets. None of the differences in performance or in daily fecal scores was statistically significant. Fiber added by ground oats, wheat bran, dried beet pulp, or alfalfa meal was neither beneficial nor detrimental to the performance of the weaned pigs.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 13, 1980

Bitter-tasting monoglycerides from stored oat flour

From stored ground oat grains with bitter taste a mixture containing 9-hydroxy-trans, cis-10,12-octadecadienoic-1′-monoglyceride and 13-hydroxycis,trans-9,11-octadecadienoic-1′-monoglyceride was isolated. To prove the structure both compounds were prepared. The threshold for bitter taste of the monoglycerides (1.1–2.2 μmol/ml) is lower than that of the free 13-hydroxy-cis, trans-9,11-octadecadienoic acid (7.6–8.5 μmol/ml). The corresponding 13-hydroperoxy linoleic acid is not bitter.

A study of the need for fibre by the growing New Zealand white rabbit.

AbstractNew Zealand White rabbits, aged between 5 and 8 weeks, were offered diets based on oatmeal together with up to 500 g kg−1 of ground oat husk, or 500 g kg−1 of ground barley straw or 400 g of a purified cellulose. The rabbits gained about 40 g liveweight per day when fed a well‐balanced control diet (in which oatmeal, grassmeal, corn oil and fishmeal were the main constituents) and, apart from one occasion, there was no significant reduction in this rate of gain even when the diets offered contained up to 500 g kg−1 of these fibre sources. Food consumption increased from 80 g day−1 to 115 g day−1 as the acid detergent fibre concentration in the diet increased from 39 to 270 g kg−1. Digestible and metabolisable energy contents of the diets fell as the fibre concentration rose but the rabbits were able to adjust their intakes and maintain their daily metabolisable energy intakes constant at about 1100 kJ. The proportion of fat in the body dry matter fell as the fibre concentration in the diet was raised. A minimum dietary fibre content of 100 g kg−1 as measured by the acid detergent fibre or crude fibre techniques is suggested for optimum healthy growth.

Hyphal density as a measure of suppression of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici on wheat roots

Runner hyphae of Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx & Olivier var. tritici Walker on seminal roots of wheat seedlings were photographed and their length measured. As well, their length was estimated using the line-intercept method. The correlation of 0.904 between measured and estimated lengths of hyphae was highly significant. This line intercept method was used to estimate the density (length/unit area) of hyphae on roots of plants growing in the presence and absence of a soil suppressive to G. graminis var. tritici. Estimations were made eight times during 28 days growth at 15°C. In fumigated soil (non-suppressive) inoculated with 0.1% ground oat grain infested with G. graminis var. tritici, the density of hyphae on roots started to increase at five days compared with 15 days when soil there was a 10.8% cover of the root surface after 15 days when the hyphae had reached maximum density. Suppression to G. graminis var. tritici is normally detected by a difference in disease rating of roots at 28 days but this study has shown that suppression can be demonstrated by the difference in the density of hyphae if roots are examined between seven and 19 days.

Phosphorus homeostasis in sheep. II.* Influence of diet on the pathway of excretion of phosphorus

Urinary phosphorus excretion by sheep given diets of coarse or finely ground roughage to vary their salivary flow rates, was studied. A 3 x 3 Latin square design was used in which three Merino ewes with rumen fistulas were given nutritionally complete diets in which the roughage component consisted of oat hulls (diet A), finely ground oat hulls (0.8 mm screen) (diet B), and finely ground oat hulls with added polyethylene flakes (diet C). Daily rumination time was used as an index of relative saliva flow rate and varied from 7.59?0 .47 and 6.83?1.12 hr/day for diets A and C respectively, to 1.92?0.39 hr/day for diet B. Similar changes were observed for the daily number of chews. When the sheep were given diet B, the pH of the rumen fluid, the concentration of inorganic phosphorus in the rumen fluid and the total inorganic phosphorus content of the rumen were reduced relative to diets A and C. Each of these effects points to a reduced rate of saliva flow. The inorganic phosphorus levels of the plasma were unaffected by the dietary treatments except that in the 6 hr following feeding, the levels fell for treatments A and C, but rose for treatment B. Urinary phosphorus excretion, which was significantly increased by diet B, was 356.6, 472.7 and 373.5 mg/day for diets A, B and C respectively. Urinary and faecal excretions of phosphorus were significantly correlated (r = –0.86) as were the urinary excretion and rumen content of phosphorus (r = –0.88). The data are discussed in relation to the role of salivary secretion of phosphorus in the balance between faecal and urinary excretion of phosphorus in sheep. _________________ *Part I, Aust. J. Agric. Res., 25: 475-83 (1974).

Energy Balance Measurements with Corn Meal and Ground Oats for Lactating Cows

Energy balance was measured with lactating cows consuming diets of 40% alfalfa hay, 5.5% soybean meal, and 54.5% of either corn meal or ground oats. The net energy value for lactation (Mcal/kg dry matter) of the oats diet (1.60) agreed with that predicted by −.12 + .0266 total digestible nutrients (% of dry matter) whereas the net energy value of the corn meal diet (1.67) was lower than predicted (1.72). The lower efficiency of the corn meal diet was associated with depression in milk fat content. Net energies of corn meal and ground oats determined by difference were 1.85 and 1.73 Mcal per kg of dry matter. Total digestible nutrient values of the total diets were considerably below comparable values listed in tables of feed composition published by the National Research Council. Actual total digestible nutrient values of the corn and oats dry matter by difference were 77 and 69%. Consecutive trials with animals consuming the same diets demonstrated that 1 wk was adequate for adaptation by cows previously unfamiliar with the respiration apparatus.

A note on the effect of bulk density and digestibility on the voluntary intake of concentrate diets by sheep of two ages

SUMMARYThree pelleted diets based on rolled barley, whole oats and ground oats respectively were offered ad libitum to mature wethers and growing lambs. With wethers, intakes on the whole oat diet were significantly greater than on the barley diet but digestible dry-matter intakes were not significantly different. On average, growing lambs ate significantly greater quantities of the ground oat diet and whereas digestible dry-matter intakes on the ground oat and barley diets were not significantly different, both were higher than on the whole oat diet. Examined at successive live weights, intakes on the whole oat diet were, at 15 kg, initially lower than on the barley diet but were ultimately higher at 60 kg, when there were no significant treatment differences in digestible drymatter intakes.

The control of voluntary food intake in ruminants

SUMMARYAn experiment to test the effect on the voluntary food intake of lambs of giving diets containing 0, 20, 40 and 60% of either coarse or finely ground oat husks, in either a loose or pelleted form, is described and the results discussed. The results showed that voluntary intake was uniformly depressed with increased dilution of the diet with oat husks when the oat husks were coarse and the diet given loose. However, when the oat husks were finely ground and when the diet was pelleted the response to dilution was much modified and in the case of older, heavier lambs intake initially increased with dilution. It is concluded that ruminants may sometimes be able to respond to increased diet dilution so as to maintain their maximum digestible-energy intake but that the attempt is often thwarted to varying degrees according to the physical form of the food. An hypothesis is suggested for the pattern of response in food intake to be expected according to the type of food given.

Influence of Oat Fractions on Diethylstilbestrol-Induced Aortic Ruptures of Turkeys

BEALL et al. (1963) demonstrated that treatment of turkeys with diethylstilbestrol (D.E.S.) can cause the development of aortic ruptures. As a result of another study of Simpson and Harms (1966) it was suggested that such aortic rhexis resulted from the hyperlipemia and aortic atherosclerosis that followed D.E.S. treatments. Previously Simpson and Harms (1964) had reported that the incidence of D.E.S.-induced aortic ruptures could be altered by dietary composition. Higher mortality resulted when either a 16.1% protein diet lacking oats and animal fat or a 24.7% protein diet containing animal fat but lacking oats were fed, as compared with a 19.1% protein diet containing whole ground oats and no added animal fat. Fisher and Griminger (1967), in an experiment involving the feeding of a hypercholesterolemic diet to chicks, found that ground oats, oat hulls, and whole ground oats had a plasma cholesterol lowering effect. Thus, recognizing the influence of feeding of…

Tissue fatty acids in normal and myopathic lbs.

In the 16 weeks prior to lambing, ewes were maintained on either 0.01 or 0.40 ppm selenium alfalfa forage of similar lipid composition supplemented with ground oats. Lambs were necropsied (53 tissue samples) at 6 weeks of age for evidence of WMD, a selenium responsive myopathy. Heart and semitendinosus muscle from affected animals had an elevated level of endogenous fatty acids and a decrease in ω6 and ω3 classes. There were no significant changes within the endogenous class of fatty acids. In the ω6 class the relative percentage of 18:2 fatty acid was increased in heart tissue with WMD. Values in the ω6 and ω3 class of the semitendinosus muscle showed no trend with WMD. In the ω3 class, the heart fatty acid distribution suggests that selenium may be involved in the synthesis of the higher molecular weight members of the class. Liver and kidney fatty acids were not indicative of WMD.