The nutritive value of rumen micro-organisms in ruminants

Abstract

Four experiments were conducted with eighteen lambs sustained entirely by intragastric nutrition at gross energy inputs varying from 430 to 860 kJ/kg live weight0·75 (W0·75). Isolated rumen micro-organisms (RMO) were infused into the abomasum in quantities varying from 0 to 2 g digestible N/kg W0·75 to assess the increase in N balance as a result of increasing RMO input when N was limiting.The over-all utilization of N from RMO (RMO-N) could be described by the equation y = 0·543 x −0·457, residual SD = 0·037, where y is the N balance and x is the abomasal input of RMO-N, both expressed in g/kg W0·75. Thus the coefficient of efficiency of utilization of infused RMO-N was 0·543 (SE 0·008). The coefficient of efficiency of utilization of RMO-N truly digested (i.e. the biological value) was 0·659 (SE 0·015).The RMO-N input (mean with SE) at N equilibrium was 0·843 (0·009) g/kg W0·75. The true digestibility of RMO-N was 0·813 (0·004). The urinary N excretion when no N was infused was 0·329 (0·008) g/kg W0·75 and the N excreted via the faeces with zero N input was 0·036 (0·009) g/kg W0·75.