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Rumen transfaunation: Taking rumen fluid from a healthy donor animal and orally transferring the rumen fluid to a recipient animal experiencing simple indigestion.
Feed accounts for more than 50 percent of the costs of milk production. There are numerous causes associated with feed shrinkage on a dairy. There can be losses of feed weight related to harvesting, delivery, storage, handling, mixing and delivering.
Rumen transfaunation involves the collection of rumen fluid from a healthy animal that will be transferred to a sick recipient animal. The following is a description of what might be described as best management practices for transfaunation.
The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a fruit that belongs to the Punicaceae family. A University of Georgia extension publication indicates that its Latin name means “seeded apple.”
Pomegranate consumption by humans has increased in recent years because of its purported health benefits.
High-quality forages in dairy cow diets provide energy and nutrients that support milk yield. However, forages are typically variable in chemical composition.
During the Spring quarter at UC – Davis, our dairy cattle production class of 40 students was on the road again doing weekly field trips to 10 dairy farms. We traveled all of California, as far north as Orland and as far south as Hilmar.
The objectives were to meet with producers and talk about management practices and issues facing the industry, to meet with professionals in the field (nutritionists and veterinarians) and to look at facilities and animals.
Olive pulp (also called olive pomace or olive cake) is what remains after olives are crushed and the olive oil is extracted. Olive pulp contains the pulp, skins, stones and water.
The California Olive Oil Council reported that in September 2011 there were approximately 30,000 acres of olives for oil production in California and that there will be 5,000 new acres planted each year through 2020. The amount of olive pulp available as a byproduct feedstuff for ruminants will increase in the future.
In a recent article with Brian Tully, we talked about milk fatty acids and how they relate to feed bunk management – “empty bunk syndrome.” But what was our theory behind using milk fatty acids as a monitor of rumen metabolism? This is an example of serendipity; research can have unexpected spin-offs.
How did serendipity play a role in our understanding of how it impacts milk fat synthesis in dairy cows?
