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Flat v. step feeding of medium or high levels of concentrates for dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

D. A. Poole
D. A. Poole
Affiliation:
Boxworth Experimental Husbandry Farm, Boxworth, Cambridge CB3 8NN
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Abstract

A system of feeding concentrates at a flat rate was compared with a step system in which the rate was reduced every 6 weeks. Each system was evaluated at either medium or high level concentrates. There were two trials involving 40 British Friesian cows for weeks 3 to 20 of lactation. The flat rate treatments were 71 (medium) and 9·3 kg dry matter (DM) per day (high) and corresponding step allocations were 8·8, 7·1 and 5·4 kg DM per day or 11·7, 9·3 and 7·0 kg DM per day. Silage was given to appetite. In trial 1 this was lucerne silage of moderate quality (metabolizable energy (ME) = 8·9 MJ/kg DM) and in trial 2 high quality grass silage (ME = 11·1 MJ/kg DM) was used.

In the comparison between systems of concentrate allocation, food intakes, milk production and live-weight change were similar in each trial. In the comparison between medium or high levels of concentrates, silage DM intakes were similar in trial 1 (7·1 v. 7·0 kg/day) but not in trial 2 (9·8 v. 8·7 kg·day, P < 0·05), and milk yields were lower in trial 1 (19·0 v. 21·4 kg/day, P < 0·001) but not in trial 2 (24·1 v. 25·2 kg/day). Milk composition was similar for medium and high concentrate intakes in both trials. Cows given the medium level of concentrates had higher live-weight losses than those given the high level in trial 1 (–58 v. –24 kg, P < 0·01) and trial 2 (–22 v. –kg). When concentrates were given at the medium level with moderate quality silage several cows had acetonaemia. Also, this feeding combination, especially when concentrates were given at a flat rate, reduced the proportion of cows which conceived within a limited breeding period.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , December 1987 , pp. 335 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

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References

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