RESUMO
Background and Aim: Dietary supplements play pivotal roles in promoting productive and reproductive performance in ruminant animals. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of extruded flaxseed and Salmate® (Ballard Group, Inc, OH, USA) inclusion in diets on milk yield and composition, ruminal degradation and fermentation, and flow of fluids and digesta in lactating cattle. Materials and Methods: Six rumen-fistulated Holstein lactating cows were distributed to a 6 × 6 design of Latin square (L.S.). The groups were assorted into a control group fed a basal control diet and two treated groups fed diets containing extruded flaxseed (7.0%) or Salmate® (25 g/head/day). The basal control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate® diets were formulated as isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. Each L.S. period of the group comprised 21 days, including 10 days for adaptation to the diet and 11 days for data sampling and recording. Results: Feed intake did not differ among the control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate® groups. Milk yield (kg) and protein and fat composition (%) were improved on feeding the extruded flaxseed diet compared with the Salmate® and control diets. Extruded flaxseed or Salmate® diet had no effect on the values of ruminal pH, ammonia, and volatile fatty acids except isobutyrate, which decreased in the Salmate® group. Degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility were significantly decreased with the inclusion of extruded flaxseed and/or Salmate® in the diets. The extruded flaxseed and Salmate® groups had a greater digesta passage rate than the control group. The extruded flaxseed and control groups had a greater liquid passage rate than the Salmate® group. Conclusion: The inclusion of extruded flaxseed in the diet improved (p < 0.05) milk yield, milk composition, and milk Omega-6: Omega-3 ratio with no changes in ruminal fermentation, notable negative effects on degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility.
RESUMO
Several methods have been conducted for embryo sex preselection, which includes X- and Y- sperm separation, changing the pH of the female reproductive tract, time of mating before or after ovulation, and feeding formula, such as altering the presence of minerals in diet content before breeding may affect the embryo sex preselection ratio. In this study, three food formulas to feed female sheep were created with the cooperation of the Arabian Agricultural Services Company (Arasco). Ewes were fed with modified food formulas for one month before mating with males. The first group (A) (30 ewes), modified for male embryo gender preselection, were fed a diet with an increased percentage of the minerals Na+, K+, and P-. The second group (B) (30 ewes), modified for female sex preselection, were fed a diet with an increased percentage of the minerals Ca++ and Mg++. The third (control) group (C) (30 ewes) were fed the regular (Wafi) food formula. Our results showed no significant differences were in mean body weights between the three groups at the end of the feeding period. The results of different feeding formulas on mineral serum blood samples of ewes showed an increase in Na+, K+, and Cl- ions in the serum of group (A) compared to the other groups (B and C). The concentration of Na+ in the serum of group (A) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than group (C). The concentration of Cl- ions in serum samples of ewes in group (A) was significantly higher than group (C) and group (B) (P < 0.05). The role of maternal feeding on embryo sex preselection shows that the pregnancy rate of animals in group (A) was 73.33%. Group (A) birthed 17 males and 5 females (77.27% and 22.72%, respectively). The pregnancy rate in group (B) was 70%. Group (B) birthed 6 males (27.27%) and 16 females (72.72%). Finally, the control group (C) had a pregnancy rate of 76.66%. They birthed 13 males (54.41%) and 11 females (44.83%). The results of our study confirm that altering the percentage of minerals in the maternal diet plays a role in sex preselection in sheep, which agree with other mammalian studies in rats and mice. Thus, the result of this study can help farmers to manage their breeding. We recommend that more studies on the relationship between minerals in the diet should be conducted for other spices and human sex preselection.