The rumen pH value is one of the evaluation parameters of rumen microbial growth, metabolism balance, and fermentation degree, which is mainly affected by the amount of saliva buffer secretion of ruminants
[19][27]. The rumen fibro lytic bacteria had the highest activity at pH 6.7 and the rumen degradability and acetate content decreased with the decrease of pH
[20][21][22][28,29,30]. In this study, after adding 12 g/head/day of BM1259, the rumen pH value increased significantly from 6.20 to 6.76 after eight weeks. The results indicated that adding a certain amount of BM1259 could promote the growth of fibro lytic bacteria. NH
3-N is the main nitrogen source (about 20–100%) in the process of rumen microbial flora growth and reproduction of ruminants. The concentration of NH
3-N should be moderate in order to facilitate microbial growth and promote microbial MCP generation. Too high or too low concentration is not suitable for microbial growth
[23][24][25][31,32,33]. In this study, it was found that the rumen NH
3-N concentration was significantly decreased after the addition of 12 g/head/day of BM1259, which was in the range of 8.46–12.03 mg/dL, although lower than that of the 10 g/head/day of BM1259 (15.95–25.32 mg/dL) in Yu
[26][34]. However, dietary supplementation of BM1259 has a certain influence on the rumen ammonia–nitrogen NH
3-N concentration. VFA is one of the energy substances used to maintain the normal life activities of ruminants, which can provide more than 70% of the digestive energy and participate in different metabolisms in the body
[27][35]. Diana et al. found that by feeding bacillus subtilis, C2 concentration and C2:C3 were significantly decreased, while TVFA, C3, and NH
3-N contents were significantly increased
[28][36]. Ding et al. found that the C2:C3 could be significantly reduced and both the TVFA and C3 content could be increased with supplementation of bacillus subtilis in the fermentation test
[29][37]. However, our results demonstrated that after the addition of BM1259, the C2 concentration increased significantly and the C2:C3 increased, indicating that the rumen fermentation type changed to acetate fermentation, which was consistent with the significant increase in the content of
Saccharofermentans in our previous study
[2]. The levels of NH
3-N and H
2S in the urine not only affected the health of the livestock and humans, but also reflected the nitrogen utilization capacity of animals
[30][38]. In this study, after the addition of 12 g/head/day of BM1259, NH
3-N in the urine of Holstein bull calves significantly decreased and the content of H
2S in the excreta was significantly reduced.
The level of the blood biochemical parameters can reflect the status of nutrient metabolism and the acid-base balance of the animal body to a certain extent. Meanwhile, the level of serum albumin and total protein is an indicator for measuring the health status of the animal
[31][32][33][39,40,41]. In this study, it was found that after adding 12 g/head/day of BM1259, most biochemical parameters in the blood of Holstein bull calves did not significantly change, indicating that BM1259 did not have adverse effects on the body health status.
3. Conclusions
In summary, the addition of BM1259 to the diets of Holstein bull calves can significantly improve the growth performance and elevate the apparent digestibility of CP and NDF. Moreover, supplementation with BM1259 increased C2 and C2:C3 in the rumen, and reduced emission of NH3-N and H2S in the feces and urine, indicating a possible amelioration in the rumen fermentation and nitrogen utilization. In addition, adding 12 g/head/day of BM1259 had no adverse effect on blood biochemical parameters and health status. However, further research is necessary to uncover the mechanism by which BM1259 improves nitrogen utilization in Holstein bull calves.