[Year-round buffering of cattle feed mixture and its effect on metabolism and productivity]

Commercial feed mixture was buffered with a 2% and 3% admixture of bentonite buffer in two beef cattle herds in the course of one year. The mixtures were fed on a continuous basis. The two-per-cent buffer concentration was tested in 110 test animals with 104 control animals and the three-per-cent concentration in 50 test animals with 50 controls. Throughout the trial the over-all health condition remained unchanged, the hematocrit and hemoglobin values were balanced in both groups. The biochemical indices were better in the test groups: hypocalcemia improved (in the controls it grew worse), magnesiemia was slightly increased, the inorganic serum factor did not go beyond physiological limits, and acidosis did not occur (as distinct from the control animals). The levels of transaminases (GOT, GPT), glutamic acid dehydrogenase, total serum protein, alkaline phosphatase as well as ammonia and urea in blood serum were at physiological values with po-differences within groups. In the case of the three-per-cent buffer concentration the daily gains were higher by 0.073 kg, and in the two-per-cent concentration by 0.058 kg, in the test animals. The average annual gain was higher by 25.5 kg, and by 18.3 kg, respectively. With respect to the price of buffer and to the efficiency of the animals tested, the economic indices of feed mixture buffering are highly effective.