Effect of double-muscling and of removing straw, fed besides concentrates, on the chewing behaviour of bulls

S De Campeneere, A Van Herck, LO Fiems, DL De Brabander

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingC1: Articles in proceedingspeer-review

    Abstract

    To determine if beef bulls adjust their chewing pattern to avoid ruminal acidosis, the chewing behaviour of double-muscled (dm) and non-dm bulls was studied with a concentrate based diet, with and without straw. The conformation (dm or not) had no influence on chewing behaviour. The removal of the straw resulted in an importantly increased DM-intake. When fed 100% concentrates, significant rumination activity was recorded. Removing the roughage from the diet had no influence on time of eating, but induced a slight shift towards relatively more rumination during the second half of the day.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationJOURNAL OF ANIMAL AND FEED SCIENCES : 10th International Symposium Ruminant Physiology
    Number of pages4
    Volume13
    Place of PublicationKopenhagen
    Publication date2004
    Pages627-630
    Publication statusPublished - 2004
    Event10th International Symposium Ruminant Physiology - Kopenhagen, Denmark
    Duration: 30-Aug-20044-Sept-2004

    Cite this