Temporal stability of the rumen microbiota in beef cattle, and response to diet and supplements

Table 1 Sampling timetable for (a) NutriBeef 2013 and (b) NutriBeef 2014 diet and supplement trials

Time point	(day)	Date	Description
(a)
TP0	0	30th May 2013	Pre-treatment
TP1	25	24th June 2013	Adaptation
TP2	42	11th July 2013	Start test
TP3	74	12th August 2013	Mid test
TP4	102	9th September 2013	End test
TP5	111–189	18th September – 5th December 2013	Chamber
TP6	126–195	3rd October – 11th December 2013	Slaughter
(b)
TP0	0	14th April 2014	Pre-treatment
TP1	14	28th April 2014	Adaptation
TP2	31	15th May 2014	Start test
TP4	98	21st July 2014	End test
TP5	114–199	6th August – 30th October 2014	Chamber
TP6	141–203	2nd September – 3rd November 2014	Slaughter

TP0: Pre-treatment: After transition to the Forage and Concentrate diets but before introduction of Nitrate and Lipid treatments
TP1: Adaptation: Seven days after introduction to Nitrate and Lipid treatments when cattle were being offered 25% of the maximum dose of Nitrate
TP2: Start test: At the start of the 56 day performance test period
TP3: Mid test: At the mid-point of the 56 day performance test period (2013 samples only)
TP4: End test: At the end of the 56 day performance test period
TP5: Chamber: After completion of the 56 day performance test period, when each animal left the respiration chambers over a period of 13 weeks (six animals/week)
TP6: Slaughter: At the abattoir, when cattle were slaughtered in four batches

ISSN: 2524-4671