EVALUATION OF FEEDS BY DIGESTION

EXPERIMENTS
LABORATORY ANALYSIS- NUTRIENT PRESENT
DIGESTION TRIAL - NUTRIENT AVAILABLE /
ABSORBED
(FECAL NUTRIENT LOSSES IS THE MAJOR
LOSSES OF FEED NUTRIENT)

DIGESTIBILITY IS DEFINED AS THAT PORTION

OF FEED OR SINGLE NUTRIENT OF FEED WHICH
IS NOT RECOVERED IN THE FAECES OR THE
PORTION WHICH IS ACTED UPON BY THE
MICROBES / DIGESTIVE ENZYMES IN THE DIG.
TRACT AND IS ABSORBED BY THE SYSTEM.
EXPRESSED IN PERCENTAGE. DIGESTIBILITY
COEFFICIENT.
• DIG.COEFF = Amt. of nutrient eaten – Amt of nutrient
voided in faeces
(DC) ----------------------------------------------------------- X 100
Amt of nutrient eaten
This DC is called Apparent DC because the nutrient in faeces includes
Undigested feed and nutrient of metabolic origin

• TRUE DC = Amt. of nutrient– {total nutrient in faeces – nutrient

consumed of metabolic origin}
------------------------------------------------------------------------ X 100
Amt of nutrient consumed
• Apparent DC is less than True DC
• Losses in ingested CHO as methane and
carbon dioxide is also accounted in
digestibility studies, so digestibility of CHO
is overestimated
• DC are estimated only for organic nutrient
as they only provide energy
• For ash and mineral balance studies is done
as they do not provide energy and most of
the absorbed mineral are excreted in gut.
METHODS OF DETERMING DIGESTIBILITY
1. In vivo Direct
Indirect By difference
By indicator /
markers

2. In sacco method / semi in vivo method

3. In vitro method
 Digestion, metabolic trial and
balance of nutrients studies
• Digestion T recording of the nutrient
consumed and nutrient voided in faeces
• Metabolic T recording of nutrient consumed
and nutrient voided in faeces and nutrient
excreted in urine
• Balance studies recording of mineral or
nitrogen consumed and mineral or nitrogen
excreted in faeces, urine or milk
 1. In vivo determination of digestibility
• Direct method : Norms adopted in conducting digestion and
metabolic trial
1. Selection of animal : same breed, sex, age and body weight
– healthy –free from parasitism – minimum 4 – males prefer
because collection of urine is easier
2. Preliminary period :
- Done to acclimatized the microbes to the new feed
- And to make free of any indigestible material of the
previously fed feed
- swine evacuation completed in 2 days
- Ruminants with roughage – 150 to 200 hours (95% -
within 140 hours)
- Preliminary period swine – 3days, cattle – 8-10 days
- Animal should be fed individually and water and salt
provided at times.
3. Collection period : 7-10 days, longer – more
accurate the results. Animal feed 90 % of the FI
capacity, recording done quantity of feed offered,
feed left out, faeces voided and urine excreted.
Samples of feed offered, feed left out, faeces and
urine. If the nitrogen balance or DC of protein is to
be studied the faeces and urine samples have to
analysed for Nitrogen on the same day or the
samples has to be preserve in sulphuric acid.
4. Test feed : Should not be deficient in the nutrients
because def. affect digestion process. Direct dig.
may be done if it provides a satisfactory ration for
the test period when fed alone. Some feed lack
bulkiness eg. concentrate or feed classified under
non-maintenance type of roughage eg. straw,
stover
In vivo determination of digestibility
- Indirect method

Digestibility by difference: 2 or 3 digestion trial

• I trial – basal maintenance type fodder is fed
and dig of nutrient determined
• II trial – basal maintenance type fodder and
concentrate is fed and dig of nutrient
determined. Dig of nutrient is concentrate is
calculated by difference. Assuming the
roughage had the same digestibility
• III trial – for non maintenance fodder and this
is fed along with concentrate and dig. of non-
maintenance fodder is determined
 ASSOCIATIVE EFFECT OF
FEEDS:
• DC by difference may not be correct, since
the addition of oilseed cake to the basal diet
may influence the digestibility of the basal
diet – associated effect. The credit of better
digestibility of basal diet goes to the
supplements (as we assume the digestibility
of basal diet remains the same as when fed
alone). i.e the digestibility of supplement is
overestimated.
DIGESTIBILITY DETERMINATION
IN POULTRY
• DC of organic nutrient in poultry –
complicated –as faeces and urine are
excreted thro’ single opening – cloaca.
Two way of determining DC
• Surgical correction to collect faeces
and urine separately
• Chemical – faeces – true protein
urine - uric acid and
ammonia
 INDICATOR METHOD OF DETERMINING DC

• The above methods described is total collection

methods – laborious and time consuming
• In indicator methods – use inert reference
substance whose specifications are
1. Totally indigestible and unabsorbable
2. Should not have pharmacological action of dig.
tract – inert
3. Mix intimately and remain uniformly distributed
4. Pass through the tract – uniformly and voided
entirely
5. Readily determined chemically
6. Preferably – natural constituent of the feed under
test
• Indicator / Marker – Two types
• Natural or Internal indicator i.e. Component
of the feed eg. Lignin, silica. Internal
indicator are indigestible and easily
determined
• External marker eg. Chromic sesquioxide
(chrome green, or chromic oxide, Cr2O3),
carmine red
• Chromic oxide – most commonly marker –
used in avian, swine and carnivorous
species. Not for herbivorous animal.
 %indicator in feed % nutrient in faeces
• DC of nutrient = 100 – (100 X ------------------------------ X --------------------------)
%indicator in faeces %nutrient in feed

• Small amount of faeces collected at any time during 24 hours is sufficient.

Most of the external markers diurnal variation is observed and for chromic
acid for example was 94% recovered. Hence the formula for DC is

% indicator in feed %nutrient in faeces

X% recovery of indicator
• DC of nutrient = 100 – (100 X ------------------------------ X --------------------------)
% indicator in faeces % nutrient in feed

• This method is successfully for horses, swine, chickens, rabbits, foxes,

minks, and men and also for ruminants
 USES OF MARKERS
1. Measurement of DC without total faecal
collection
2. Measurement of herbage intake in grazing
animals
3. Quantifying rate of passage and extent of
digestion in different segments of the gut.
eg Rare earth (lanthanum, samarium,
cerium, Ytterbium, Dysprosium) .
Polyethylene glycol, chromium, EDTA and
cobalt EDTA – are liquid phase markers in
ruminants studies.
 MEASUREMENT OF PASTURE CONSUMPTION AND
DIGESTIBILITY IN GRAZING ANIMALS

• Pasture was harvested and DC was conducted – not correct since

grazing animal have tendency of selective grazing.

• Grazing animals harnessed with faeces bags and feces voided for
24 hours determined. This can provide total DM voided.

• Pasture grass are harvested and fed in the stalls to determine DC.

• From these two- Total DMI of the animal is calculated

Marker consumed (g / d)
• Faecal DM output = -------------------------------------------------------------
Marker concentration in faeces (g / g DM)

100
• DM intake = Faecal output X --------------------------------------------
% indigestibility of DM
 FACTORS AFFECTING DIGESTABILITY
OF FEEDSTUFF:
A. ANIMAL FACTOR
B. PLANT FACTOR
C. FEED PREPARATION

ANIMAL FACTOR
• SPECIES OF ANIMAL – RUMINANT – PRE GASTRIC DIG, MORE EFF.
IN DIG. OF HIGH CF LOW CP DIET
NON-RUMINANT – POST GASTRIC DIG,
MORE EFF. IN DIG OF LOW CF
AND HIGH CP DIET
• AGE OF THE ANIMAL –

• WORK – LIGHT WORK / EXERCISE – IMPROVE DIG.

HEAVY – DEPRESS DIG

• INDIVIDUAL VARIATION – UPTO 25 % , MOSTLY 4 – 5 %

• LEVEL OF FEEDING – HIGH LEVEL OF FEEDING – LOWER RETENTION TIME –

LOWER DIGESTIBILITY MORE SO IN RUMINANTS AND SWINE
B. PLANT FACTOR

• DIG RELATED TO CHEMICAL COMPOSITION THIS IS

RELATED TO SOIL COMP., MANURING,
FERTILISATION, WATER SUPPLY, STAGE OF
MATURITY, FREQUENCY OF CUTTING, VARIETY
AND STAIN OF PLANT, CLIMATE , LEAF TO STEM
RATIO, SOIL FERTILITY

• EARLY CUTTING – HIGHER DIG, LESS CF, MORE

CP, VIT, MINERAL

• HIGH CP - MORE DIGESTIBILITY

C.PREPARATION OF FEED

1. PARTICLE SIZE
2. SOAKING OF GRAINS
3. PROCESSING OF GRAINS
4. NUTRIENT CONTENT IN THE RATION
- HIGH CP – HIGHER DIGESTIBILITY
- HIGH CHO > 7% MOLASSES DEPRESS
CF DIG.
- HIGHER CF – LOW DIG
- HIGH EE – HIGHER DIG.
- MINERAL – Co
 LABORATORY METHOD OF
DETERMINING DIGESTIBILITY

• Semi invivo / in Sacco method

• Invitro method
 Semi invivo / in Sacco / Nylon
bag technique
• Digestibility / degradability of feed in the rumen is
determined by keeping the feed sample in bags
which are immersed in rumen contents of the rumen
fistulated animals. Bag – nylon, Dacron or silk cloth
(ie. Indigestible by rumen microbes), should be very
fine (ie feed materials should not pass out but
should allow the rumen microbes entry).
• Bag are removed at different time intervals – washed
till the wash water is clear and dried at 60oC for 48
hours. The % disappearance of DM, CP / N, CF etc
are determined.
 Application of the technique
1. Initial evaluation of feedstuff – screening,
rapidly, large numbers of samples in short
time.
2. Possible to vary the factors within the bag
or within the rumen
3. Degradation of protein supplement i.e
effective rumen degradability (P) of protein
= a + bc (where K is turnover rate of
-------- rumen digesta)
(c+k)
 Limitations:
1. The test feed is not subjected to
mastication, rumination and passage
2. What is measured is the breakdown of
material to size small enough to leave
the bag and not degradation to simple
chemical compounds
 Factor that affect the degradability
• Particle size: feed in this study is not
subject to mastication or rumination and
microbial fermentation is only means by
which particulars reduction occurs. Hence
longer and coarser material have slower
rates of digestion and greater variation in
the results and finely ground materials are
subjected to greater mechanical losses
from the bags but variation is more
controlled. 1 to 2 mm screen
• Bag porosity: 40 to 60 micrometer is
optimum
3. Sample size to bag surface ratio: The
optimum sample size is one which provides
enough residue at the end of the extended
rumen incubations for chemical analysis
without overfilling so as to delay bacterial
attachment, increase lag time and
underestimate digestion. Sample size
depends on bulk density. For bag of 14x9
cm sample size is Straw – 2 g, Good hay –
3g , Concentrate – 5 g, fresh herbage – 10-
15 g. A range of 10 to 20 mg/cm2 of sample
size to bag surface are ratio.
4. Diet of the animal – maintenance
ration
5. bags per animal – 6
6. Animal species
7. Number of animals – minimum 3
8. Number of replicates bags per animal
– minimum 3
9. Incubation time –3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 48,
72, 120 hours
10. Positioning of the bags
 INVITRO DIGESTIBILITY
• RAPID SCREENING TECHNIQUE,
• LARGE NO. OF SAMPLES CAN BE
SCREENED –
• PLANT BREEDING EXPERIMENT THE
RANKING THE FODDER
• EVALUATION OF NEWER FEEDSTUFFS –
UNCONVENTIONAL FEED
• SUGGESTED IN PRESENT DAY PRATICE
 A. ONE-STAGE TECHNIQUE
THE PRINCIPLE OF RUMEN MICROBIAL DIGESTION IS
SIMULATED IN LAB

• FEEDSTUFF IS INCUBATED WITH RUMEN LIQUOR

AND ARTIFICIAL SALIVA AT 39OC UNDER
ANAEROBIC CONDITION IN ARTIFICAL RUMEN
FOR SPECIFIED PERIOD. AFTER INCUBATION
THE SAMPLES IS REMOVED AND THE
DISAPPEARANCE OF DM (IVDMD) OR ORGANIC
MATTER (IVOMD) IS DETERMINED AND
EXPRESSED AS %.
 B. TWO STAGE TECHNIQUE
• 1ST STAGE SAME AS ABOVE AND THE
2ND STAGE IS THE RESIDUE IS TREATED
WITH ACID TREATED PEPSIN (STIMULATE
THE IN VIVO BREAKDOWN OF FEED AND
MICROBIAL PROTEIN BY DIG. ENZYMES)
OR NDF ESTIMATE THE TRUE
DIGESTIBILITY (BECAUSE NDF
SOLUBILISES BACT. CELL WALL AND
OTHER ENDOGENOUS PRODUCTS
 C. VIVAR TECHNIQUE
• AN IN-VIVO ARTIFICAL RUMEN USED FOR
STUDYING NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT OF
RUMEN MICROBES. THE VIVAR TUBE –SS
OR GLASS TUBE FITTED WITH
SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANE. FEED IS
PLACE IN THE TUBE AND R.MICROBE IN
SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANE, THE
MICROBES MOVES THROUGH THE
MEMBRANE AND DEGRADE FEED. AFTER
FERMENTATION THE DM
DISAPPEARANCE IS RECORDED.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE TDN OF FEED

1. THE % OF DM
2. THE DIG. OF DM
3. AMOUNT OF MINERAL MATTER
4. DIGESTIBILITY OF FAT
 Feed

Water OM Mineral
(no TDN value) (has TDN value) (no TDN value)

Digestible OM Undigestible OM
(has TDN value) (no TDN value)
 WEAKNESSES OF THE TDN SYSTEM:

1. BASED ON PROXIMATE PRINCIPLES

2. EE – FACTOR 2.25 IS NOT CONSTANT
VARIES WITH TRUE FAT CONTENT
3. DOES NOT MEASURE ENERGY IN ENERGY
UNITS
4. DOES NOT MEASURE ALL LOSSES FROM
THE BODY
5. OVERESTIMATE THE ENERGY VALUE OF
FORAGE IN RELATION TO CONCENTRATE
6. TDN IMPLIES ONLY DIGESTION LOSS BUT
FOR CP IT IMPLIES EVEN URINARY LOSS
 TDN VS DE
1. HF AND GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF DIG.
ARE PART OF DIG. LOSSES. BUT NOT
INCLUDED IN CALCULATION OF DE.

2. DE IS EXPRESSED IN TERM OF CAL.

3. READILY DETERMINED WITH BOMB

CALORIMETER

4. NO CHEMICAL ANALYSIS REQUIRED SO

DE PREFERRED TO TDN
 FACTORS AFFECTING M.E.
1. ALL FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE DIGESTIBILITY

2. M.E. IS HIGHER FOR NON-RUMINANT THAN

RUMINANTS,.

3. VARIES WHETHER NITROGEN IS USED FOR

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS OR FOR ENERGY

4. PREPARATION OF FEED

5. INCREASE IN LEVEL OF FEEDING