Effect of Peanut Shell and Rice Husk Bedding for Dairy Cows: An Analysis of Material Properties and Colostrum Microbiota

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate peanut shells and rice husks as bedding for dairy cows. We analyzed material properties including dry matter, water holding capacity, pH level and bacterial counts. Bedding treatments were compared with a one-way ANOVA using twelve cows split into three groups. Colostrum microbiota was analyzed by sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Dry matter content was higher in rice husks compared with peanut shells. No treatment effects were found for water holding capacity and pH level. Streptococcus agalactia counts in peanut shell bedding were lower than in rice husk bedding, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts were not different between beddings. A significant enrichment for Enhydrobacter and Pantoea were detected in the colostrum of cows that used peanut shells compared with other beddings. Colostrum of cows housed on a peanut-rice combination had a greater relative abundance of Pseudomonas and Corynebacterium than those housed on peanut shells or rice husks. Higher numbers of Bacteroides, Akkermansia, Alistipes, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002 and Intestinimona were found in the colostrum of cows housed on rice husk bedding over other bedding types. These results suggest that bedding types were associated with the growth and diversity of colostrum bacterial loads. In addition, dry matter in peanut shells was lower than found in rice husks, but there was also a lower risk of mastitis for peanut shell bedding than other beddings.

Keywords: colostrum microbiota; dairy cow; peanut shell; properties; rice husk.

Figure 1

Counts of Pseudomonas aeruginos and Streptococcus agalactia in the bedding materials. PS = peanut shells, PRC = peanut–rice combination, RH = rice husks. Means ± SEM with different letters (a, b) differ (p < 0.05).

Figure 2

Venn diagram showing the number of unique and shared operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (A). High-throughput sequencing tag numbers and sequencing depth (B). PS = peanut shells, PRC = peanut–rice combination, RH = rice husks.

Figure 3

Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) plot of colostrum samples. PS = peanut shells, PRC = peanut–rice combination, RH = rice husks. Overlap within two habitats indicated that exposure to different bedding types had similar bacterial community compositions of colostrum samples, if not the bacterial community was different.

Figure 4

Bacterial composition in colostrum at the phylum (A) and genus (B) level for dairy cows from different bedding materials. PS = peanut shells, PRC = peanut–rice combination, RH = rice husks.