Original Research
Bone mineral response to ammonium sulphate offered as a lick supplement in beef calves
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association | Vol 77, No 1 | a334 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v77i1.334
| © 2006 L.E. Motsei, D.E. Beighle
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 06 June 2006 | Published: 06 June 2006
Submitted: 06 June 2006 | Published: 06 June 2006
About the author(s)
L.E. Motsei,D.E. Beighle,
Full Text:
PDF (198KB)Abstract
Sixteen Bonsmara calves (4 males, 12 females) between 10 and 18 months of age were blocked according to age and sex and randomly assigned to 2 groups. They were offered licks containing bone meal and salt (50:50 ratio) (control) and bone meal and ammonium sulphate (NH4SO4) at 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 18 % (treatment) to evaluate the effects of dietary anions on bone phosphate (P) concentration. Bone P concentration was significantly (P<0.05) higher in the NH4SO4 group compared with the control group, indicating that NH4SO4 was able to increase the P content of bone at each of the 6 concentrations used in the lick relative to the control animals, thereby improving the P status of the animals. Ammonium sulphate at 15% and 18% in the lick also significantly (P <0.05) increased bone P compared with the lower concentrations of NH4SO4. Bone calcium (Ca) fluctuated as a result of the acidogenic lick. There was absorption of Ca when P was being resorbed and resorption of Ca when P was being absorbed into and out of bone. Bone Ca:P ratio ranged from 3.2 to 6.4 among the control group and 1.6 to 4.3 among the treatment group. Animals receiving the acidogenic lick had a higher percentage ash compared to the control group for most of the experimental period. Bone magnesium (Mg) fluctuated in response to the acidogenic lick, and it was difficult to show a relationship between bone Mg and Ca or P. The overall mean cortical bone thickness was significantly (P < 0.05) greater in treatment (1.60 mm) compared with control (1.43 mm) calves and this was also true at sampling periods 2, 4, 5 and 6. Bone thickness followed bone P and not bone Ca. Results from this research indicate that the addition of ammonium sulphate to a lick had a beneficial effect in improving the P status by increasing bone P and improving the mineral status of bone by increasing the thickness of cortical bone and percentage ash.
Keywords
Ammonium Sulphate; Anions; Bone; Bone Meal Licks; Calcium; Magnesium; Phosphorus
Metrics
Total abstract views: 2775Total article views: 2761
Crossref Citations
1. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Physiological values and factors affecting the metacarpal bone density of healthy feedlot beef cattle as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
A. Zotti, M. Gianesella, C. Ceccato, M. Morgante
Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition vol: 94 issue: 5 first page: 615 year: 2010
doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2009.00946.x