The effects of grazing intensity on herbage consumption and animal production. I. Short-term effects in strip-grazed dairy cows

1966 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. D. Greenhalgh ◽  
G. W. Reid ◽  
J. N. Aitken ◽  
E. Florence

1. The object of the experiment was to determine the effects of varying the quantities of herbage available to cows on their diet and milk production.2. Four groups of five Ayrshire cows were strip grazed for three periods of 3-4 weeks on areas calculated from sample cuts to supply (A) 25, (B) 35, (C) 45 or (D) 55 lb. dry matter per cow per day. These periods were interspersed between four standard periods of 2-3 weeks, in which all the cows were strip grazed on 50-60 lb. dry matter per head per day.3. Measurements of milk production and of herbage consumption, by the chromic oxide-faecal nitrogen technique, were made for the last 12 or 16 days of experimental and last 8 days of standard periods. The observations made in the standard periods were used as covariates in the analyses of those made in the experimental periods.

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 919
Author(s):  
Verónica M. Merino ◽  
Lorena Leichtle ◽  
Oscar A. Balocchi ◽  
Francisco Lanuza ◽  
Julián Parga ◽  
...  

The aim was to determine the effect of the herbage allowance (HA) and supplement type (ST) on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production and composition, grazing behavior, rumen function, and blood metabolites of grazing dairy cows in the spring season. Experiment I: 64 Holstein Friesian dairy cows were distributed in a factorial design that tested two levels of daily HA (20 and 30 kg of dry matter (DM) per cow) and two ST (high moisture maize (HMM) and cracked wheat (CW)) distributed in two daily rations (3.5 kg DM/cow/day). Experiment II: four mid-lactation rumen cannulated cows, supplemented with either HMM or CW and managed with the two HAs, were distributed in a Latin square design of 4 × 4, for four 14-d periods to assess ruminal fermentation parameters. HA had no effect on milk production (averaging 23.6 kg/day) or milk fat and protein production (823 g/day and 800 g/day, respectively). Cows supplemented with CW had greater protein concentration (+1.2 g/kg). Herbage DMI averaged 14.17 kg DM/cow.day and total DMI averaged 17.67 kg DM/cow.day and did not differ between treatments. Grazing behavior activities (grazing, rumination, and idling times) and body condition score (BCS) were not affected by HA or ST. Milk and plasma urea concentration increased under the high HA (+0.68 mmol/L and +0.90 mmol/L, respectively). Cows supplemented with HMM had lower milk and plasma urea concentrations (0.72 mmol/L and 0.76 mmol/L less, respectively) and tended (p = 0.054) to have higher plasma β-hydroxybutyrate. Ruminal parameters did not differ between treatments.


1968 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Logan ◽  
L. J. Fisher ◽  
P. S. Hayden

Vacuum silages made from Pioneer 383 and Pride 5 corn were fed with concentrate and with and without hay to lactating dairy cows. Yields per hectare in terms of dry matter were 8,850 kg for Pioneer 383 and 8,350 kg for Pride 5. Intake of silage dry matter was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for Pride 5 (11.4 kg/day) than for Pioneer 383 (9.8 kg/day), and significantly lower (P < 0.05) for both silages when hay was fed (11.4 kg/day versus 9.7 kg/day). Fat-corrected milk production was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for Pride 5 (17.0 kg/day) than for Pioneer 383 silage (15.8 kg/day), and significantly higher (P < 0.05) when hay was fed, than without hay supplementation (167 kg/day versus 16.0 kg/day). Utilization of silage dry matter in terms of fat-corrected milk production per hectare was 10,486 kg for Pride 5 corn silage and 11,176 kg for Pioneer 383 corn silage.


1978 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. L. P. Le Du ◽  
R. D. Baker ◽  
J. M. Barker

SummaryTwo experiments with dairy cows and one with suckler cows and their calves were conducted to examine the use of secretion rate measurements for estimating total milk production. In the first experiment both 4- and 6- h intervals between measurements gave similar estimates of total 7-d milk yield. The second experiment compared estimated and measured milk composition as well as yield. Milk and solids-not-fat yields were underestimated with dairy cows as a result of an extended milking interval before measurement. However, fat yield was overestimated, indicating that all residual milk was not removed at the first oxytocinaided milking. It was concluded that for the beef cow, previous interval effects would be eliminated by the frequency of calf suckling, but that residual milk effects might cause a 3–6% and a 16% overestimation of milk and fat yields respectively.In the third experiment, the milk yield of suckler cows was estimated from measurements of secretion rate and from changes in calf weight; good agreement was obtained provided there were at least 3 consecutive controlled sucklings.


1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 ◽  
pp. 21-21
Author(s):  
J.A. Benson ◽  
C.K. Reynolds ◽  
D.J. Humphries ◽  
D.E. Beever ◽  
S.M. Rutter

Fat is often fed to dairy cows as a means of increasing dietary energy concentration; however feeding fat often reduces feed intake. For many fat supplements this can be due to negative effects on rumen digestion, however feeding rumen inert fat and post ruminal infusions of fat can also depress intake although the mechanism by which this happens is not clear. The effect of fat on intake may also be influenced by stage of lactation as in early lactation fatty acid levels in the blood can be elevated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fat infusion into the abomasum on dry matter (DM) intake, milk production and metabolism of splanchnic tissues (portal drained viscera (PDV) and liver) in early and mid lactation cows.


1999 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. UNAL ◽  
P. C. GARNSWORTHY

Dry matter intake is one of the major factors limiting milk production in dairy cows, although the quantity of food consumed by an individual cow when housed and fed as part of a group is rarely known. Such information would permit more precise ration formulation, concentrate allocation and selection of cows according to efficiency of milk production. Alkanes have been used with sheep and cattle to estimate feed intake under grazing conditions and could provide a technique for measuring intake in housed dairy cows. The purpose of this study was to examine alkanes C32 and C36, in combination with alkane C33, as indigestible markers for estimating intake of housed dairy cows fed on different diets under experimental and commercial conditions. Three experiments were conducted with hay-based diets (Expt 1), silage only diets (Expt 2) and a diet consisting of a silage-based basal ration plus concentrates (Expt 3). Animals were dosed once daily with C32 and C36, either on filter papers (Expts 1 and 2) or as part of a specially prepared concentrate (Expt 3). Faecal recoveries of alkanes ranged from 0·88 to 0·99. Over the range of intakes found in the three experiments (6–24 kg DM/d), the r2 values for estimated versus actual dry matter intakes ranged from 0·81 to 0·99. It is concluded that alkanes could provide a useful technique for estimating intake in dairy cows housed and fed in groups.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 ◽  
pp. 146-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Phipps ◽  
J.D. Sutton ◽  
A. K. Jones

Interest in the use of whole crop cereals as a complementary forage for dairy cows has developed in Europe over the last fifteen years. Initial studies in the UK concluded that near maximum dry matter (DM) yield/ha of whole crop wheat (WCW) occurred in late July/early August when crops contained at least 500 g/kg DM. However, it was noted that when these crops were ensiled they tended to be aerobically unstable. To minimise this problem it was recommended that these crops were preserved with urea rather than being ensiled. Early studies with dairy cows demonstrated that the use of both urea-treated and low DM fermented WCW increased forage intake and milk yield but effects on milk composition were inconsistent (Leaver and Hill, 1992, Phipps et al., 1995). Concern has been expressed that the use of urea in crop preservation was environmentally unacceptable and that high DM fermented WCW offered a possible alternative, which would provide high DM yields/ha of a starch-rich crop. The objective of the current study was to examine the effect of crop maturity on feed intake and milk production of dairy cows. An additional treatment was included to examine the effectiveness of an additive containing L. buchneri designed to improve aerobic stability.


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