Alkali treatment of cereal grains. II. Digestion, ruminal measurements and feedlot performance

Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of feeding alkali-treated corn on various metabolic and performance characteristics of cattle. In the first trial, four ruminally-fistulated cows were fed high moisture corn (HMC) in the following forms: whole, rolled, sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-treated and ammonium hydroxide-treated. The corn was fed as 75% of the diet (dry matter basis) in four 15-day feeding periods in a 4 x 4 Latin square design. NaOH-treated HMC produced the highest dry matter digestibility (P less than .05), the highest rumen pH (P less than .05), the highest ruminal fiber digestion (P less than .05) and the highest fecal pH (P less than .05). Rolled HMC produced the lowest rumen pH (P less than .05) and lowest fiber digestion (P less than .05). Ammonium hydroxide-treated HMC produced no response in comparison to whole HMC and had the lowest rate of passage (P less than .05). Fecal starch, fecal water content, rumen fill and rumen ammonia were unaffected by treatments. In the second trial, 90 yearling steers were randomly allotted to five groups of 18 (six steers per pen). Steers were fed ad libitum a diet of 20% corn silage, 5% supplement and 75% corn as dry shelled corn, whole HMC, rolled HMC, NaOH-treated dry shelled corn or NaOH-treated HMC. There were no treatment effects on daily dry matter intake. Cattle fed either of the NaOH-treated corns had lower (P less than .05) average daily gains and poorer (P less than .05) feed efficiencies. No treatment effect was apparent for any carcass characteristic measured except yield grade, which was lower (P less than .05) for steers fed NaOH-treated HMC. Whole HMC produced the highest (P less than .05) fecal pH values while both NaOH treatments produced lower (P less than .05) fecal pH values than the other treatments.