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. 2024 Mar 5;102:skae060. doi: 10.1093/jas/skae060

Table 5.

Effect of continuous or intermittent feeding of ergot contaminated grain in a mash or pelleted form on rectal temperature, hair cortisol, and blood chemistry of finishing (FN) steers

Treatments P-value
CON1 CEM2 IEM3 IEP4 SEM CON vs. Ergot Cont. vs. Int. Ergot mash vs. ergot pellet
Rectal temp, °C 39.40 39.78 39.73 39.55 0.016 <0.01 0.09 0.06
Hair cortisol, pg/mg 1.76 1.78 1.55 1.23 1.035 0.05 <0.01 0.02
Prolactin, ng/ml 35.04 35.24 38.77 33.05 1.084 0.95 0.95 0.61
Haptoglobin, mg/ml 0.13 0.11 0.11 0.10 1.034 0.09 0.59 0.63
Blood health panel
 Albumin—ALB, g/L 25.31 24.29 23.43 25.31 0.021 0.42 0.96 0.20
 Alkaline phosphatase—ALP, U/L 101.81 92.00 99.82 111.79 1.729 0.92 0.18 0.33
 Amylase—AMYL, IU 61.87 53.89 51.14 46.68 0.061 <0.01 0.42 <0.01
 Blood urea nitrogen—BUN, mmol/L 4.10 3.79 3.48 3.49 0.071 0.01 0.16 0.97
 Alanine transaminase—ALT, U/L 61.42 60.54 58.04 56.99 0.947 0.13 0.27 0.74
 Calcium—Ca, mmol/L 2.13 2.05 1.96 2.09 0.029 0.20 0.76 0.16
 Creatinine—CREA, umol/L 84.47 88.74 80.84 82.23 0.630 0.92 0.20 0.83
 Gamma-glutamyl transferase—GGT, IU 27.85 28.34 23.36 28.52 0.591 0.57 0.25 0.04
 Globulin—GLOB, g/L 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.44 0.458 0.95 0.67 0.60
 Glucose—GLU, mmol/L 4.78 4.31 4.52 4.69 0.092 0.30 0.27 0.57
 Lipase—LIPA, IU 37.29 34.61 29.24 28.61 0.087 <0.01 0.06 <0.01
 Total protein—TP, g/L 56.17 55.41 54.03 54.76 0.823 0.53 0.67 0.79
 Total bilirubin—TBIL, µmol/L 3.18 2.71 2.67 2.70 0.938 0.94 0.06 0.12
Complete blood count
 Granulocytes, 103 µL 3.36 3.11 3.20 3.14 0.108 0.28 0.75 0.79
 Lymphocytes, 103 µL 5.98 5.74 6.14 6.00 1.006 0.91 0.11 0.56
 Monocytes, 103 µL 0.93 0.89 0.93 0.90 0.008 0.60 0.33 0.52
 Platelets, 103 µL 262.93 268.68 249.95 263.82 1.834 0.85 0.33 0.33
 Red blood cells, 106 µL 8.97 9.05 8.85 8.72 1.002 0.48 0.09 0.46
 White blood cells, 103 µL 10.35 9.86 10.40 10.18 1.005 0.54 0.22 0.60

1CON = Control, no added ergot alkaloids (EA).

2CEM = Continuous ergot mash, fed continuously 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM.

3IEM = Intermittent ergot mash, fed intermittently 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk.

4IEP = Intermittent ergot pellet, fed intermittently 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM incorporated into a pelleted supplement during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk.