Impacts of calcium addition and different oil types and levels on in vitro rumen fermentation and digestibility

Abstract This in vitro study was designed to investigate the effects of calcium addition to substrates differing in source and level of oil on fermentation, gas production, and digestibility parameters. Substrates were made from basal mixtures containing three levels of calcium salt (0, 1, and 2% CaCl2) to contain three levels (3, 6, and 9%) of two types (sunflower and soy) of oil. After collecting from two Holstein bulls and mixing with buffer, rumen fluid was used to incubate the resulting 18 mixtures in duplicate. Ionizable calcium, pH and NH3–N concentration were measured during incubation. Gas production was measured at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after incubation. Kinetics parameters of gas production and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) were calculated from regression coefficients of an exponential equation and a linear equation, respectively. Data were analysed using 3-way ANOVA with repeated measure option in which the parameter time was a subplot. Oil type did not affect pH and ionizable calciu...