Acid or Alkali-Treated Hardwood Sawdust as a Feed for Cattle

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Abstract
Hardwood sawdust was treated with solutions of NaOH and H2SO4, ranging in concentration from 1.0 to 2.5%, for 24 hours. ADF, cellulose, ash and IVDMD were increased (P<.01) by NaOH treatment, whereas, the lignin content was lowered (P<.01). No differences (P<.01) due to NaOH treatments occurred in GE, N and DM except DM was lowered by the 2.5% solution. The IVDMD was improved almost 100% by the 1.0% solution. DM, ADF, lignin and GE were reduced (P<.01) by the H2SO4 treatments. N, cellulose and ash were not affected. The highest IVDMD was obtained from sawdust treated with the 2.5% H2SO4 solution but was not statistically different from either 1.0% H2SO4 or 1.0% NaOH solutions. Holstein steers fed rations containing 25% untreated, 1.0% NaOH, or 1.0% H2SO4 treated sawdust for 85 days, had no differences (P<.01) in weight gains, feed intake, or feed efficiency. Thus, there was no economical advantage of treating hardwood sawdust with either NaOH or H2SO4 in this study. Copyright © 1976. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1976 by American Society of Animal Science.