Effect of dietary polymer-coated urea and sodium bentonite on digestibility, rumen fermentation, and microbial protein yield in sheep fed high levels of corn stalk

Four ruminally cannulated thin-tailed Han×Dorper crossbreed wethers were used in a 4×4 Latin square design experiment to evaluate the effect of polymer-coated urea (PCU) (Optigen II, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, KY) and sodium bentonite (SB) on intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention, rumen fermentation and microbial nitrogen in sheep fed high levels of corn stalk. Four isonitrogenous and isocaloric dietary treatments composed of 60% corn stalk and 40% concentrate (DM basis) were offered twice daily in two equal portions at 7:00 and 19:00 h ad libitum to ensure about 5% ort. The treatments were control (CON), PCU (soybean meal replaced by 1.8% Optigen), SB (CON diet with an additional 2% SB), and PCUSB (PCU diet with an additional 2% SB). Sheep on PCU treatment showed a greater OM digestibility (P<0.05), and nitrogen digestibility (P<0.01) compared to other treatments, but digestibility of other nutrients and dry matter intake (DMI) did not change. SB did not alter nutrient digestibility except for nitrogen. Different treatments did not affect nitrogen intake, or its urinary excretion. Nitrogen retention tended to be higher (P=0.09) in sheep fed Optigen. Moreover, purine derivatives (PD) and microbial nitrogen were not influenced by different treatments. The pH and total VFA were also not influenced by the treatments. Propionate proportions increased (P<0.01) in diets that included Optigen, but an addition of SB to Optigen did not alter the ratios. NH3-N levels in PCU continuously increased, with the highest level achieved 3 h after feeding, which were sustained for up to 7 h. No differences were discerned in ruminal kinetics of corn stalk DM for different treatments. The PCU improved the effective degradability (ED) of corn stalk DM in 0.02 or 0.04 flow rates out of the rumen compared to both CON and PCUSB (P<0.05), but SB improved ED in 0.06 flow rates out of the rumen compared to CON. Thus, using Optigen as a new source of non-protein nitrogen to replace soybean meal in sheep fed high levels of corn stalk improved the digestibility of OM, nitrogen, and ED. Addition of SB to Optigen had no beneficial effects on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention, microbial nitrogen, or rumen fermentation and ED.