Obviously, level of roughage is an extremely important
factor affecting acidosis. In general, as the level of
roughage increases, the incidence of acidosis decreases.
However, cost/gain usually increases as level of
roughage increases because roughage is poorly digested
in high-grain finishing diets. The first increment of
roughage (5 to 10 percent) will stimulate feed intake and
gain without adversely affecting cost/gain. The roughage
should be coarsely chopped to stimulate chewing and
rumination, which in turn will stimulate saliva production.
Saliva contains bicarbonate that will buffer the
acidic conditions of the rumen and help reduce acidosis