The objective of this trial was to study the effects of different dietary levels of the ionophore monensin on apparent digestibility of nutrients and on ruminal, blood, and urinary metabolites in dairy heifers. Samples of ruminal fluid (pre-feeding and 2 hours post-feeding), blood, urine, and feces all were collected from 28 confined Holstein heifers. Diets contained (dry matter basis): 32.84% of concentrate (corn grain, soybean meal, urea, and mineral salt mixture), 33.58% of corn silage, and 33.58% of sugarcane. The following amounts of monensin were included in the diets: 0, 14, 28 or 42 mg/kg of diet dry matter. The experiment was analyzed as a complete randomized design with four treatments and seven replications. Both regression analysis and orthogonal contrasts were part of the statistical model. No significant differences before feeding were observed for ruminal pH and for the ruminal concentrations of ammonia, acetate, propionate, and butyrate by adding monensin to the diets. However, a significant reduction in the acetate:propionate ratio was detected. Conversely, ruminal pH decreased and ruminal propionate increased when samples were taken at two hours after feeding. As before, the acetate:propionate ratio was reduced when monesin was increased from 0 to 42 mg/kg of diet dry matter. In addition, orthogonal contrasts showed a decrease in the concentration of ruminal ammonia before feeding. Including monesin in diet of dairy heifers did not alter the concentrations of glucose and blood urea. Similarly, intakes of dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein, ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (TC), and neutral detergent fiber were all unchanged by dietary supplementation with monensin. Significant quadratic effects were observed for apparent digestibilities of DM, EE, and TC and also for the excretion of urinary nitrogen.
ammonia; ionophore; rumen; volatile fatty acids
