Time Interval and Intervening Quantity of Cooked Rice Prediction to Induce Ruminal Acidosis

Abstract

Background: Small holding farmers feed surplus cooked rice as the only source of concentrated feed to cattle leading to onset of acidosis. In order to plan preventive measures at appropriate time, determination of time interval required to induce acidosis for respective quantity of cooked rice fed is essential. Methods: An experiment with graded quantity cooked rice was tested in vitro to determine the respective time interval required to induce acidosis. Since varying quantity of cooked rice are fed to dairy cattle by farmers, a prediction equation was developed to determine the precise duration required to induce acidosis for the respective quantity of cooked rice. Thirty-two cooked rice samples, each incubated with 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0g in six replications were taken. Result: The onset of acidosis (pH less than 5.8) occurred at 9 hours of incubation with 0.5 and 1.0 g of cooked rice, at 6 hours of incubation with 1.5 2.0 and 2.5 g of cooked rice and at 3 hours of incubation with 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 g of cooked rice, respectively. The results obtained were fitted in regression equation viz. Y = α + β1x1 + β2x2 + µ Where Y = pH; x1 = Quantity of cooked rice; x2 = Incubation period; α = Intercept; β1, β2 = Slope and µ = Error turn. There was a close relationship between regressive calculated pH (X,) and in vitro determined pH Y = 7.79 - (W × 0.421) - (t × 0.184) r2 = 0:61; p less than 0.001. Hence, it is possible to predict the fall of pH based on the quantity and duration of incubation for any intervening quantity of cooked rice or period of incubation. Thus, appropriate timely intervention or correction in feeding management on intervening quantity of cooked rice to prevent onset of acidosis is possible wherever farmers feed surplus cooked rice to cattle.