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Factors effecting the feeding value of maize and grass silage in late lactation dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

F.J. Mulligan ,
F.P. O'Mara ,
M. Rath ,
P.J. Caffrey ,
J. Callan  and
B. Flynn
F.J. Mulligan
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
F.P. O'Mara
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
M. Rath
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
P.J. Caffrey
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
J. Callan
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
B. Flynn
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons Research Farm, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
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Extract

Higher dry matter intakes (DMI) have been reported in dairy cows fed maize silage than in dairy cows fed grass silage. The objective of this experiment was to investigate this phenomenon by the measurement of digestibility and the determination of rumen outflow rates for both forages. The response in milk production of late lactation dairy cows to grass or maize silage was also measured.

Fourteen late lactation multiparous dairy cows (n = 7) were fed diets containing either grass silage (GS) (DM: 197g/kg; pH: 4.05; NDF: 642g/kg DM) or high starch maize silage (MS) (DM: 339g/kg; pH: 3.94; starch: 360g/kg DM; NDF: 442g/kg DM) ad-libitum plus 4kgs/hd/day of a dairy concentrate (233g CP/kg DM). Urea (460g N/kg DM) was used as a source of degradable protein (10g/kg DM) for the MS diet which also included straw (40g/kg DM). Dietary NDF equalled 542 and 423g/kg DM for the GS and MS diet.

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Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1999 , 1999 , pp. 79
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1999

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References

AFRC. 1993. Energy and protein requirements of ruminants. An advisory manual prepared by the AFRC committee on responses to nutrients. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.Google Scholar
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