Use of Bismuth Subsalicylate to Mitigate Effects of Water with High Sulfate Concentrations for Beef Cattle
Date
2024-04-30
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0009-0007-1433-8538
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Heifers consuming high-sulfate water are at an increased risk for depletion of Cu and or S-induced polioencephalomalacia and limited mitigation strategies are available. Study 1 evaluated the effect of water with increasing sulfate concentration on dry matter (DM) and water intake, and ruminal fermentation. Eight ruminally cannulated beef heifers (382 ± 45 kg) were stratified into two complete and one incomplete Latin squares with 28-d periods and exposed to 342 ± 29 (LS), 2,785 ± 72 (MS), or 4,948 ± 163 mg of sulfate/L (HS). At the end of each period, digesta was collected from heifers in the complete squares and used for in vitro incubation to evaluate the effect of water sulfate and BSS dose (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% of diet DM) in a 3 × 4 factorial design. Water intake increased linearly (P < 0.01) with increasing sulfate concentration, but dry matter intake (DMI) was not affected (P = 0.23). Heifers provided MS and HS had greater ruminal hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration for 10.5 h after water provision and HS continued to be greater for another 4 h relative to LS (sulfate h, P < 0.01). In vitro H2S production increased (P < 0.01) with increasing sulfate concentration and was reduced (P = 0.05) by BSS. Study 2 evaluated the effects of feeding 24 growing beef heifers (221 ± 41 kg) BSS (0.0 vs. 0.4% (DM basis)) when provided water with a low (346 ± 13 mg/L) or high (4,778 ± 263 mg/L) sulfate concentration in a 91-d feeding study (completely randomized block design). Evaluated effects included DMI, water intake, ruminal H2S concentration, and trace mineral status. DMI and water intake were not affected by sulfate or BSS (P ≥ 0.10). The inclusion of BSS reduced (P = 0.035) ruminal H2S concentration by 46%. Heifers fed BSS had lower liver Cu than heifers not provided BSS and heifers provided high sulfate had lower liver Cu than those provided low (sulfate × BSS, P = 0.02). While BSS reduced ruminal H2S, it’s not a suitable mitigation strategy as it further decreased trace mineral status of beef cattle.
Description
Keywords
Water sulfate, trace mineral status, hydrogen sulfide, beef cattle
Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Animal and Poultry Science
Program
Animal Science