Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1060254
It is known in the art to add various types of flavoring materials
to animal feeds of a vegetable nature such as corn, alfalfa meal, soybean
meal, and mixtures thereof with or without minerals, vitamins and other addi-
tives, e.g., methionine, Vitamin E and Vitamin A. Vanillin and other flavor-
ing substances have also been added. In some cases such additives may im-
prove the odor of the feed but do not necessarily improve its attractiveness
to animals such as beef cattle, including calves, dairy cattle, swine, in-
cluding baby pigs, sheep, including lambs, and goats, including kids. These
animals differ from each other in their likes and dislikes and some of them
such as cattle, sheep and goats have more than one stomach. -
It is very difficult during certain times of the year to get ani-
mals to eat dry feed and in the case of some animals such as baby pigs, it
would be desirable to increase the attractiveness of vegetable type feed so
that they can be taken off of sows milk and fed with this type of feed at an
earlier date. This would make it possible for the sows to have three litters
of pigs a year rather than two.
In general, animals which are raised for meat and also dairy cattle
are fed two different types of vegetable feed, namely, roughage, including
hay and corn silage, and a supplemental ration usually containing corn, al- -
falfa meal, soybean meal, minerals and vitamins. In the case of an average
dairy cow, for example, this supplemental ration might be within the range
of 10 to 20 pounds per day. It can be prepared in the form of a ground mix-
ture with or without pelleting.
For various reasons it would be desirable to increase the attrac-
tiveness of feeds to animals. One reason is to improve the general health
of the animals. Another reason is to increase the feed intake of animals,
especially herbivorous animals which are raised to be slaughtered for meat
purposes, thereby increasing the weight of the animals and bringing them to
market at an earlier date. A principal food of herbivorous animals is corn.
Accordingly the present invention provides a feed for feeding herbi-
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vorous animals selected from the group consisting of cattle, pigs, horses,
sheep, goats and fowl, which feed includes one or more ingredients selected
from the group consisting of hay, silage, cereal grain, alfalfa meal and soy-
bean meal and sodium diacetate in sufficient amount to serve as an attractant
and to enhance the taste threshold of said feed, the quantity of sodium diace-
tate being less than 0.4% by weight of the total feed.
A preferred feed comprises cereal grain corn, either in the form of
whole kernels, or cracked or ground corn, alone or in mixed animal feeds so
as to make them more attractive to animals.
The feeds of the invention not only contain an attractant but also
are more stable on storage and retain their attractiveness to animals over a
substantial period of time.
The feeds may be in the form of feed supplements which contain an
attractant for animals that improves the taste threshold of the feed.
The invention can be practiced in a number of different ways. The
sodium diacetate can be added to high moisture corn ~approximately 24% mois-
ture) at levels within the range of 0.1% to 1.0% usually 0.3%, 0.6% and 0.9%.
Inasmuch as sodium diacetate is a solid material the addition can be carried
out in a batch feed mixer. The corn can be stored in open wood bins on a
barn floor. Surface air movement will be sufficient to remove moisture pro-
duced by sweating of the corn. After the corn has been treated, it can be
used as such as an animal feed or it can be stored and used at a later date
or it can be mixed with other ingredients such as, for example, alfalfa meal,
soybean meal, minerals and vitamins. The resultant mixture can be used as
such as an animal feed or it can be pelleted and the pellets employed as an
animal feed.
One method of preparing pellets is to grind corn, alfalfa meal, soy-
bean mezl, minerals and vitamins, add steam to bring the moisture content up
to 16% water and then allow the mixture to stand and cool so that the final
moisture content is around 14%. Sodium diacetate is added to this mixture
either before or after pelleting in proportions sufficient to give a mixed feed
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containing, for exampleJ 0.2% sodium diacetate, 0.6% sodium diacetate or 1.0%
sodium diacetate. Tests have shown that this type of feed is very attractive
to cattle. Cattle and hogs are also attracted to treated cereal grains such
as treated corn containing sodium diaceta~e in the quantities indicated with
or without the other ingredients used in preparing mixed feeds.
The sodium diacetate is preferably added to corn in the form of
whole kernels containing their natural moisture content as they come from
the field (e.g , 18% to 35% by weight) without artificial drying. Before
use the corn is allowed to remain in contact with the sodium diacetate until
the sodium diacetate penetrates the seed coat to the e~dosperm. The amounts
used are usually within the range of 0.1% to 1.5% by weight and preferably
from about 0.8% to 1.5% by weight of sodium diacetate. The corn containing
sodium diacetate in the endosperm can be used as whole kernels or it can be
cracked or ground and used as such or in mixed feeds. In case the product is
to be used without lengthy storage and the sodium diacetate is employed
primarily as an attractant as little as 0.1% to 0.2% of sodium diacetate will
be sufficient to increase the taste threshhold and make the resultant feed more
attractive to animals.
The invention will be further illustrated but is not limited by
the following examples in which the quantities are given in parts by weight
unless indicated.
EXAMPLE I
In a comparative palatability study a normal or conventional
animal feed supple~ent containing ground corn, alfalfa meal, soybean meal,
minerals and vitamins in the form of pelletswith ~ut 3/8 inch in diameter and -~
3/4 inch long was compared with the same animal feed containing various
percentages of sodium diacetate in feeding unfed dairy cows. The tests were
performed on hungry cows with the first feed in the morning and the same levels
were repeated with the afternoon feeding. The feeding trough was divided into
two sections, one containing the control pellets without the sodium diacetate
and the other containing the same feed concentrate with sodium diacetate.
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In a test involving 16 dairy cows where the amount of sodium
diacetate in the sodium diacetate-containing feed was 1% by weight, 14 of the
cows preferred the feed containing sodium diacetate and only 2 preferred the
control concentrate. None of the cows left the feeding trough more than 30
minutes in either case. In this test there were no cows that did not show a
preference for one type of feed or the other.
EXAMPLE II
The procedure was the same as in Example I except that the feed
concentrate containing the 1% sodium diacetate had been stored for 60 days.
In this test 35 dairy cows were fed. 21 of the dairy cows showed a preference
for the feed concentrate containing the 1% sodium diacetate, 13 showed a
preference for the control concentrate and only one showed no preference. Gne
of the cows left the control concentrate more than 30 minutes and 4 of the cows
left the sodium diacetate-containing concentrate more than 30 minutes ~ -
EXAMPLE III
The procedure was the same as in Example I except that the sodium
diacetate-containing pellets contained 0.6% by weight sodium diacetate. In
this test there were 19 dairy cows, S of them preferred the control concentrate
and 10 preferred the feed concentrate containing the sodium diacetate. 4 cows
showed no preference. 2 of the cows that preferred the control concentrate
left the concentrate more than 30 minutes. None of the cows that preferred
the sodium acetate-containing concentrate left the concentrate more than 30
minutes. -
EXAMPLE IV
The procedure was the same as in Example I except that the sodium
diacetate-containing f~ed concentrate contained 0.2% sodium diacetate. In this
test there were 18 dairy cows. 5 preferred the control concentrate, 12 prefer-
red the sodium diacetate-containing concentrate and one showed no preference.
One of the cows that preferred the control concentrate left the concentrate
more than 30 minutes. None of the cows that preferred the sodium diacetate-
containing feed concentrate left the concentrate more than 30 minutes.
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From the tests in Examples I to IV in 88 individual tests 65% of
the cows preferred the feed containing sodium diacetate, 28% preferred the
control ration and 7% showed no preference.
EXAMPLE V
The following procedure is used intreating high moisture corn for
storage. The grain is cleaned as much as possible and sodium diacetate which
is a dry, free-flowing, white powder is mixed with the corn by applying the
sodium diacetate to the corn while the corn is passing through a screw conveyor
Aeration is used to reduce the temperature of the corn to 40F. as soon as
possible. The corn at 25% moisture should be stored in bins with aeration
capacity of at least one cubic foot per minute per bushel of capacity.
The sodium diacetate is applied to the corn at the following rates,
depending upon the moisture content of the corn:
Moisture of CornPounds of Sodium Diacetate
Per Cent by Weight ~er Ton
20-22 8
22-24 10
24-26 12 -
26-28 14
28-30 16 -
EXAMPLE VI
The test was made with beef cattle using untreated corn and corn
treated as described in Example V. The corn had been treated in July and
stored until Oct-ober. The treated and untreated corn was placed in troughs so
~hat the cattle could have a preference. The cattle ate all of the treated
corn before they ate the untreated corn. These trials were repeated and the
same results were observed each time.
EXAMPLE VII
A high moisture corn treated with sodium diacetate as described in
Example V was fed to pigs to determine its acceptability. At that time the
finishing pen was being fed shelled corn and pellets in self-feeders. For the
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test the treated corn was placed in small piles on the feeding floor near the
self-feeders, The pigs did not eat any more corn out of the self-feeders until
the piles of treated corn had been completely consumed.
The invention is therefore particularly important where it is
desired to fatten herbivorous animals or maintain their health, especially
beef cattle, dairY cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, goats and fowl. As previously
indicated, as an attractant good results have been obtained by using the sodium
diacetate at a level of 0.2% to 1.5% by weight. The feeds can be mixed and
used in a pelleted or unpelleted form. The invention is also especially
important where the corn has a moisture content from 16% to 35% and is suscep-
tible to mold and where the feed is to be stored for a period of time.
The addition of sufficient sodium diacetate causes penetration
of the seed coat by the sodium diacetate into the endosperm of the corn and
the formation of mold is inhibited under typical farm storage conditions.
Usually the amount of sodium diacetate required to render stored corn kernels
impervious to mold growth when applied uniformly to the surface of the kernels ~;
where the latter have a moisture content of 21% to 23% by weight will be
around 0.8%. As the moisture content is increased the amount of sodium
diacetate is increased approximately 0.06% by weight for every 1% by weight
increased in moisture in the corn. Thus, as the amount of corn moisture increas-
es from 22% by weight to 32% by weight, the amount of sodium diacetate would
be increased from 0.8% by weight to 1.5% by weight.
These amounts of sodium diacetate are higher than the amount of
sodium diacetate required to serve as an attractant or to improve the taste
threshhld in animals but herbivorous animals are attracted to animal feeds
containing sodium diacetate at both lower levels and higher levels within the
range of 0.1% to 1.5% by weight of sodium diacetate based on the weight of the
animal feed.
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