Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T13:15:28.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of feeding long or short wheat hay v. wheat silage in the ration of lactating cows on intake, milk production and digestibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2017

Y. Shaani ,
M. Nikbachat ,
E. Yosef ,
Y. Ben-Meir ,
I. Mizrahi  and
J. Miron
Y. Shaani
Affiliation:
Department of Ruminant Science, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O.B 15159 Rishon LeZion 7528809, Israel Department of Animal Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
M. Nikbachat
Affiliation:
Department of Ruminant Science, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O.B 15159 Rishon LeZion 7528809, Israel
E. Yosef
Affiliation:
Department of Ruminant Science, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O.B 15159 Rishon LeZion 7528809, Israel
Y. Ben-Meir
Affiliation:
Department of Ruminant Science, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O.B 15159 Rishon LeZion 7528809, Israel
I. Mizrahi
Affiliation:
Dept of Life Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, P.O. Box 653 Beer-Sheva, Israel
J. Miron*
Affiliation:
Department of Ruminant Science, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O.B 15159 Rishon LeZion 7528809, Israel
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate in lactating cows the effect of either chopping or ensiling of wheat roughage on: intake, digestibility, lactation performance and animal behavior. Three groups of 14 lactating cows each, were fed total mixed rations (TMRs) based on either long wheat hay (HL), short wheat hay (HS) or wheat silage (SI), as the sole roughage source (30% of TMR dry matter (DM)). Parameters examined: sorting behavior, DM intake, milk yield and composition, rumination, recumbence, average daily rumen pH, digesta passage rate, and in-vivo digestibility. Performance data was summarized by day and analyzed using a proc-mixed model. The content of physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) was similar in the HL and SI and lower in the HS, resulting in similar differences among the three corresponding TMRs. In vitro DM digestibility of wheat silage was higher than that of the two hays (65.6% v. 62.8%) resulting in higher in vitro DM digestibility of the SI-TMR compared with the hay-based TMRs (79.3 v. 77.0%). HS-TMR was better than HL- or SI-TMRs at preventing feed sorting by cows after 12 or 24 h eating of the diets. Cows fed HS-TMR consumed more DM and NDF but less peNDF than the other two groups. Average daily rumen pH was similar in the three groups, but daily rumination time was highest in the cows fed HS-TMR. Rumen retention time was longest in cows fed HL-TMR. DM digestibility in cows fed SI-TMR was higher than that of HS and HL groups (65.2%, 61.8% and 62.4%, respectively), but NDF digestibility was similar in the three treatments. The highest intake of digestible DM was observed in cows fed SI-TMR, HS cows were intermediate and HL cows were the lowest. Consequently, cows fed SI-TMR had higher yields of milk, 4% fat corrected milk and energy-corrected milk (47.1, 42.9 and 43.2 kg/day, respectively) than cows fed HS-TMR (45.7, 41.0 and 41.0 kg/day, respectively) or HL-TMR (44.1, 40.3 and 40.3 kg/day, respectively). Net energy production (NEL+M+gain) per kg DM intake was highest in the SI-TMR, lowest in the HS-TMR and intermediate in the HL-TMR (1.52, 1.40 and 1.45, respectively). Animal welfare, as expressed in daily recumbence time and BW gain was similar in the SI and HS groups and higher than the HL cows.

Keywords

lactating cow performanceruminationdigestibilitywheat hay or silageforage particle size
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 11 , Issue 12 , December 2017 , pp. 2203 - 2210
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adin, G, Solomon, R, Nikbachat, M, Zenou, A, Yosef, E, Brosh, A, Shabtay, A, Mabjeesh, SJ, Halachmi, I and Miron, J 2009. Effect of feeding cows in early lactation with diets differing in roughage-neutral detergent fiber content on intake behavior, rumination, and milk production. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 3364–3373.Google Scholar
AOAC 1990. Official methods of analysis, vol. 1, 15th edition. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA.Google Scholar
Ben-Ghedalia, D, Kabala, A and Miron, J 1995. Composition and in vitro digestibility of carbohydrates of wheat plants harvested at bloom and soft-dough stages. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 68, 111–116.Google Scholar
Drissler, M, Gaworski, M, Tucker, CB and Weary, DM 2005. Free stall maintenance: effects on lying behavior of dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 2381–2387.Google Scholar
FAO 2015. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, food outlook biannual report on global food markets, p. 11. Retrieved on January 2016 from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5003e.pdf.Google Scholar
Jaakkola, S and Huhtanen, P 1993. The effects of forage preservation method and proportion of concentrate on nitrogen digestion and rumen fermentation in cattle. Grass Forage Science 48, 146–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kononoff, PJ, Heinrichs, AJ and Lehman, HA 2003. The effect of corn silage particle size on eating behavior chewing activity, and rumen fermentation in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 3343–3353.Google Scholar
Lammers, B, Buckmaster, D and Heinrichs, A 1996. A simple method for the analysis of particle sizes of forage and total mixed rations. Journal of Dairy Science 79, 922–928.Google Scholar
Leonardi, C and Armentano, LE 2003. Effect of quantity, quality, and length of alfalfa hay on selective consumption by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 557–564.Google Scholar
Miron, J, Ben-Ghedalia, D and Morrison, M 2001. Invited review: adhesion mechanisms of rumen cellulolytic bacteria. Journal of Dairy Science 84, 1294–1309.Google Scholar
Miron, J, Yosef, E, Maltz, E and Halachmi, I 2003. Soybean hulls as a replacement of forage neutral detergent fiber in total mixed rations of lactating cows. Animal Feed Science and Technology 106, 21–28.Google Scholar
Murphy, M, Akerlind, M and Holtenius, K 2000. Rumen fermentation in lactating cows selected for milk fat content fed two forage to concentrate ratios with hay or silage. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 756–764.Google Scholar
NRC 2001. Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle, 7th revised edition. Subcommittee on Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Committee on Animal Nutrition and Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources/National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
SAS Institute 2003. SAS for windows ver. 9.1.3. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Shaani, Y, Eliyahu, D, Mizrahi, I, Yosef, E, Ben-Meir, Y, Nikbachat, M, Solomon, R, Mabjeesh, SJ and Miron, J 2016. Effect of feeding ensiled mixture of pomegranate pulp and drier feeds on digestibility and milk performance in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Research 83, 35–41.Google Scholar
Tilley, JMA and Terry, RA 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18, 104–111.Google Scholar
Van Soest, PJ, Robertson, JB and Lewis, BA 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.Google Scholar
Yang, WZ and Beauchemin, KA 2006. Effects of physically effective fiber on chewing activity and ruminal pH of dairy cows fed diets based on barley silage. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 217–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zebeli, Q, Aschenbach, JR, Tafaj, M, Boguhn, J, Ametaj, BN and Drochner, W 2012. Invited review: role of physically effective fiber and estimation of dietary fiber adequacy in high producing dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 1041–1056.Google Scholar
Zebeli, Q, Mansmann, D, Ametaj, BN, Steingass, H and Drochner, W 2010. A model to optimise the requirements of lactating dairy cows for physically effective neutral detergent fibre. Archives in Animal Nutrition 64, 265–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar