Presentation by E J. Madsen, M. F. Bertelsen, T. Hvelplund, and M. R. Eisbjerg at the 5th All Africa conference on animal production, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25-28 October 2010.

1. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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AN EASY METHOD TO MEASURE THE METHANE
PRODUCTION OF RUMINANTS
J. Madsen1, M. F. Bertelsen2, T. Hvelplund3, and M. R. Weisbjerg3
1Department of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
2Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark
3Department of Animal Health and Bioscience, Faculty of Agricultural
Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
25-28, October 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Background for the development of the method
Respiration chambers measurements:
• can only be done on relatively few animals
• animals are not in their natural environment
SF6 measurements:
• are not very reliable
• SF6 is a strong greenhouse gass
Another option exist based on:
• measurement of the ratio between CH4 and CO2
• 3 facts

3. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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1.
There is a relation between
heat production and CO2 production
Nutrient Fat Protein Carbohydrate
kJ / l CO2 28 24 21
Fat Protein Carbohydrate kJ / l CO2
Diet 1 5 20 75 21,95
Diet 2 3 18 79 21,75
Diet 3 4 16 80 21,76
Diet 4 1 4 95 21,19

4. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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2.
Breath contains much higher
concentrations of CH4 and CO2 than air
Breath:
CO2 = 38000 ppm
CH4 = 1800 ppm
Air:
CO2 = 380 ppm
CH4 = 1,8 ppm

5. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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3.
The heat production and/or utilization of
metabolizable energy by livestock has been
intensively studied and described.
The heat production can thus be established for
different animals with a reasonable accuracy!

6. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Results from dairy cows

7. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CO2 as a marker (instead of SF6)
for the amount of breath / air from animal
Example Wallaby (16 kg live weight)
Heat production for maintenance 385 kJ/ kg0,75
(Munn and Dawson (2003)
Wallaby:
16 kg0,75 = 8
8 * 385 = 3080 kJ/day
3080/21,75 = 142 l CO2/day
If we can measure the ratio between CH4 and
CO2 in the breath / air from animal then
we can calculate the CH4 production

8. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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C.K. Environment A/S
3500 Værløse
Denmark
www.cke.dk
FTIR infrared analyser
250 different gasses

9. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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12. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CO2 as a marker (instead of SF6)
for the amount of breath / air from animal
Example Wallaby (16 kg live weight)
Heat production for maintenance 385 kJ/ kg0,75
(Munn and Dawson (2003)
Wallaby:
16 kg0,75 = 8
8 * 385 = 3080 kJ/day
3080/21,75 = 142 l CO2/day
CH4 production of the Wallaby=
142 * 0,02 l/day = 2,8 l CH4/day

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15. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Results from dairy cows (AMS)

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61 Red Danish cows in AMS.
Individual feed intake not known
Kg milk / cow / day

17. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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39 Holstein cows in AMS
with known individual feed intake

18. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CH4/CO2 versus CH4E of GE
0,00
0,01
0,02
0,03
0,04
0,05
0,06
0,07
0,08
0,09
0,10
0,11
0,12
0,00 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 0,05 0,06 0,07 0,08 0,09 0,10 0,11 0,12
CH4/CO2
CH4
energy
of
Gross
energy
Calves ~45 bulls. 117-268 kg LW. Open cirquet. Thorbek 1980"
Wallaby. 8. 16 kg LW. Open cirquit. Madsen et al.

19. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CH4/CO2 versus CH4E of GE
0,00
0,01
0,02
0,03
0,04
0,05
0,06
0,07
0,08
0,09
0,10
0,11
0,12
0,00 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 0,05 0,06 0,07 0,08 0,09 0,10 0,11 0,12
CH4/CO2
CH4
energy
of
Gross
energy
Calves ~45 bulls. 117-268 kg LW. Open cirquet. Thorbek 1980"
Cows 39 Holstein. Spot. Madsen et al.
Cows 61 Red Danish. Spot. Madsen et al
Cows. 7 farms. Building. Spot. Bjerg et al.
Wallaby. 8. 16 kg LW. Open cirquit. Madsen et al.

20. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CH4/CO2
61 dairy cows in 5 days (mean +/- 1,96*S.E.)
0,000
0,010
0,020
0,030
0,040
0,050
0,060
0,070
0,080
0,090
0,100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour of day
0,000
0,010
0,020
0,030
0,040
0,050
0,060
0,070
0,080
0,090
0,100
New feed New feed

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Conclusions
It is possible to measure the CH4 production of individual animals or groups of animals if:
- the concentration of breath in the air is above ~3%
- the heat (and CO2) production of the animals can be calculated
- the ratio between CH4 and CO2 can be measured
Wallabies produce only 25% of the methane produced by ruminants on the same diet
Many things can be investigated by having a fast, reliable and cheap method which
produce
- many results in a short time span
- results from animal in their natural environment
The measurements can be done on individual animals for
- testing the effect of different feeds
- investigating the potential in selection / breeding
- investigating the differences between breeds and species
or
Investigations can be made on whole animal houses (ruminants and other animals) for
- testing the effect of different feeds, breeds and species
- testing the effect of different production systems

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Thank you for listening

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Example of a dairy cow:
Intake 18 kg dry matter/day
Production 20 kg milk/day
Weight loss 500 g/day
Undigested
carbon
1500 g
Digestion
and
metabolism
Milk Weight loss
carbon carbon
1300 g 100 g
Intake
carbon
7500 g
CO2 out
4200 g
CH4 out
400 g

31. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Methane production from various animals
Champ et al 1990, Jensen, 1996)
Weight, kg CH4/day l CH4/kg0,75
Cow 700 600 4,41
Cow 500 230 2,18
Sheep 40 30 1,89
Elephant 1700 110 0,42
Hippopotamus 1000 70 0,39
Rheino 800 60 0,40
Horse 500 80 0,76
Donkey 250 40 0,64
Zebra 200 20 0,38
Pig 100 10 0,32
Man 50 2 0,11
Warthog 45 4 0,23
Wallabe 16 1,8 0,23
Goose 0,4 0,05 0,10
Rat 0,3 0,001 0,00

32. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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”Bygningsberegninger”

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”Fysiologi-, fodringsberegninger”

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CH4/CO2 versus CH4E of GE
0,00
0,01
0,02
0,03
0,04
0,05
0,06
0,07
0,08
0,09
0,10
0,11
0,12
0,00 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 0,05 0,06 0,07 0,08 0,09 0,10 0,11 0,12
CH4/CO2
CH4
energy
of
Gross
energy
Calves ~45 bulls. 117-268 kg LW. Open cirquet. Thorbek 1980"
Cows 39 Holstein. Spot. Madsen et al.
Wallaby. 8. 16 kg LW. Open cirquit. Madsen et al.

35. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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CH4/CO2 versus CH4E of GE
0,00
0,01
0,02
0,03
0,04
0,05
0,06
0,07
0,08
0,09
0,10
0,11
0,12
0,00 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 0,05 0,06 0,07 0,08 0,09 0,10 0,11 0,12
CH4/CO2
CH4
energy
of
Gross
energy
Calves ~45 bulls. 117-268 kg LW. Open cirquet. Thorbek 1980"
Cows 39 Holstein. Spot. Madsen et al.
Cows. 7 farms. Building. Spot. Bjerg et al.
Wallaby. 8. 16 kg LW. Open cirquit. Madsen et al.

36. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Results from one wallaby
Kangaroo "OG" l/CO2 /24 h
0,00
50,00
100,00
150,00
200,00
250,00
300,00
350,00
400,00
450,00
500,00
1 272 543 814 1085 1356 1627 1898 2169 2440 2711 2982 3253 3524 3795
MeasMurement no (24 hours)
l
CO2
/
24
h

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Measured =88%

38. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Average figures for 4 and 8 wallabees
CH4/CO2 korr
Grass
---4---
Hay + Conc
-----8-------
Hay + Conc
--------4--------
Mean ppm CO2 1975,458 1925,827 1858,602
Mean ppm CH4 24,70606 31,47018 31,07481
Mean CH4/CO2 korr 0,01580 0,0207 0,0208

39. Madsen, et al. AACAA2010. Addis. An easy method to measure the methane production of ruminants
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Results from dairy cows (AMS)

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Results from dairy cows (AMS)