Cattle
Feed Additive
Where pigs and chickens need preformed
protein from plants and animals ruminant animals such as dairy
cows, beef cattle, and sheep have micro-organisms in their rumen
that make protein from simple nitrogen compounds.
Urea
Rich Diets in Rumens
The benefit of adding urea to the diet is that it is less
expensive than feeding protein nitrogen. One kilogram of urea
contains as much nitrogen as five kilograms of high protein
feed such as soybean oil meal. However high feed rates of
urea result in the generation of large amounts of ammonia
that are adsorbed into the blood and create a change in the
pH of the blood. This creates the following toxic symptoms:
-
Excess Ammonia Bloat
- Laboured
Breathing as the animal tries to correct the blood pH by
altering its carbon dioxide levels.
- Lack
of Coordination as the brain is effected.
The
Role of Zeolite in the Diet
When zeolite is fed to the animal it adsorbs much of the excess
ammonia and acts like a buffer slowly releases the nitrogen
at a rate the animal can convert it to amino acids and protein.
During
rumination and mastication saliva, which contains sodium,
replaces the ammonium ions in the zeolite resulting in the
slow release of the un-reacted ammonia for conversion.
Zeolite
also provides a reduction of dicalcium phosphate by up to
50% therefore providing a health benefit and pollution prevention.
Presently, the most common approach to cutting dicalcium phoshate
is to feed ‘phytase’.
Reported
Experimental Results
Studies have shown that clinoptilolite added to the feed
of young calves improved their growth rate by stimulating
their appetites and decreasing the incidence of scours and
diarrhea.
Five-percent zeolite was added to a normal grass and hay diet
of 10 and 184 day old heifer calves over a 180 day period.
The animals on the zeolite supplemented diets gained 20% more
weight on average than those in the control diet. Although
the test calves consumed more feed, the feeding costs per
kilogram weight gained were significantly less than the control
group. The test animals’ manure contained less water and fewer
particles of undigested solids. The overall health of the
test animals was also notably better than the control group.
Another
study was done using 2% clinoptilolite, 72% digestible nutrients
and 11% crude protein over a 329 day period. This study showed
the final weights between the experimental test group (using
zeolite) and control group were similar, however, the experimental
test group steers showed larger body dimensions and reportedly
dressed out to give higher quality meat. These differences
were reflected in higher prices obtained for the test animals
and a 20% greater profit.
Using Zeolite instead of Sodium Bicarbonate
The use of zeolite as a replacement for sodium bicarbonate
as a rumen buffer has been known for years. Some producers
of zeolite have also included up to 50% by weight of dolomite
(calcium-magnesium carbonate) with the zeolite. The advantages
of using zeolite over sodium bicarbonate include better economics,
odour control, increased feed efficiency, better retention
of the nitrogen in the fertilizer, less sodium delivered to
the pasture, less scours, and possible mico-toxin binding.
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