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Effect of offering three amounts of maize stover to dairy cows on intake and selection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

J. N. Methu ,
E. Owen ,
A. Abate ,
M. Scarr  and
J. Tanner
J. N. Methu
Affiliation:
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, NARC Muguga, P.O. Box 30148, Nairobi, Kenya The University of Reading, Department of Agriculture, Earley Gate, P.O. Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, UK
E. Owen
Affiliation:
The University of Reading, Department of Agriculture, Earley Gate, P.O. Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, UK
A. Abate
Affiliation:
The University of Nairobi, Department of Animal Production, P.O. Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya
M. Scarr
Affiliation:
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, NARC Muguga, P.O. Box 30148, Nairobi, Kenya
J. Tanner
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
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Extract

Several studies with barley straw (e.g. Wahed et al, 1990) and sorghum stover (e.g. Osafo, 1993) have shown improvements in intake with increasing ‘ad libitum’ amounts offered. Furthermore, these studies have demonstrated that sheep and goats offered barley straw or sorghum stover in long, unprocessed form, increase intake by selecting for leaf and leaf sheath, and against stem. This phenomenon offers a simple feeding strategy to use selective feeding behaviour to improve intake and hence production. The aim of the present experiment was to study the effect of offering increasing amounts of long maize stover on intake and selection by dairy cows.

Six, early- to mid-lactation Ayrshire and Friesian cows (live weight, M, 430 kg) were used in a double 3x3 Latin square design with 24-day (d) feeding periods. Cows were offered long (unchopped) maize stover at low, medium or high ‘ad libitum’ rates, i.e. 31, 59 or 87 g dry matter (DM)/kg M.d. Cows also received 3.2 kg DM/d of cotton seed cake (339 g/kg DM crude protein) in two meals at milking (0700 h and 1800 h). Stover was offered in one meal daily, at 0700 h, after collecting refusals from the previous day. Amounts of stover offered and refused were weighed daily. Samples of offered stover (0.5 kg) and refused stover (0.5 kg) were analysed for DM daily. All refused stover and 4.0 kg samples of offered stover were botanically fractionated, daily, into stem (S), leaf (L), sheath (Sh) and husk (H). Milk yield was recorded daily and cows weighed at the start and end of each period.

Type
Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1997 , 1997 , pp. 85
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1997

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References

Wahed, R. A., Owen, E., Naate, M. and Hosking, B. J. 1990. Feeding straw to small ruminants: effect of amount offered on intake and selection of barley straw by goats and sheep. Animal Production 47: 105–110.Google Scholar
Osafo, E. L. K. 1993. Soghum stover as a forage: Cultiver effects on yield and effects of chopping, amount offered, supplementation and variety on intake, selection and live-weight gain in Ethiopian sheep and cattle. Ph D Thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar