The effect of composition of concentrate on the voluntary intake of silage and milk output

Author(s):  
C. Thomas ◽  
K. Aston ◽  
J. Bass ◽  
S.R. Daley ◽  
P.M. Hughes

Earlier work at this institute with calves indicated that a concentrate containing a mixture of fibre and fat allowed higher voluntary intakes than a concentrate containing barley. The objective of the current trial was to compare the immediate and residual effects on milk yield and composition of supplements containing starch or a mixture of fibre and fat.Primary growths of perennial ryegrass were cut on 22 May and 12 June and wilted for 24 h prior to ensiling. The earlier cut material was preserved with an additive containing a mixture of formic acid, sulphuric acid and formalin at 4 l/t, whilst the later cut herbage was ensiled with formic acid at 3 l/t. A 60:40 mixture of the two silages was offered ad_ libitum with 2 pelleted supplements. Supplement Ba was a mixture of (DM basis) rolled barley (932 g/kg) and fishmeal (68 g/kg). Supplement SBP/FF consisted of unmolassed beet pulp (555 g/kg), extracted rice bran (315 g/kg), fat prills (56 g/kg) and soya bean meal (75 g/kg). Sources of protein differed in an attempt to balance RDP:UDP supply. The factorial combination of the two supplements (Ba and SBP/FF) given at two levels, 6 kg DM (L) or 12 kg DM (H), provided the 4 treatments imposed over weeks 3 to 10 of lactation on 40 British Friesian cows. During weeks 12 to 20 of lactation (Post experiment period) the cows were given an equal mixture of the two concentrates at 9 kg DM/day. Milk output was adjusted by covariance according to yield in week 2 of lactation.

1981 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Thomas ◽  
K. Aston ◽  
J. C. Tayler ◽  
S. R. Daley ◽  
D. F. Osbourn

ABSTRACT1. The primary growth and first regrowth of perennial ryegrass were preserved either without additive (NA), or with a mixture consisting of equal volumes of formic acid and formalin at 10·0 and 13·01/t fresh crop for primary growth and regrowth herbage respectively (35 g formaldehyde per kg crude protein) (FF). The silages were given ad libitum to 40 lactating British Friesian heifers and cows, with a supplement of either pelleted ground maize (104 g crude protein per kg dry matter) (LP) or pelleted ground maize and soya bean meal (254 g crude protein per kg dry matter) (HP), at 6·1 and 7·1 kg per head per day for heifers and cows respectively. The primary growth silage was given from weeks 4 to 14 and the regrowth from weeks 15 to 22 of lactation. The silages were supplemented with urea so that the dietary supply of rumen degradable protein exceeded 7·8g/MJ metabolizable energy.2. Silage FF had lower concentrations of both fermentation acids and ammonia-nitrogen than silage NA. The digestibility of the dry matter, energy and crude protein of the diet containing silage FF was significantly less than that of diets containing silage NA when cows were given primary growth material (P < 0·001). But silage treatment had no significant effect on the digestibility of cellulose. When cows were given regrowth silage, silage treatment had no significant effect on the digestibility of dry matter, energy and cellulose, but formic acid/formaldehyde reduced the digestibility of crude protein (P < 0·01). The inclusion of soya bean meal in the supplement significantly increased the digestibility of crude protein, dry matter and energy, but when cows were given the primary growth silage the effect on the digestibility of dry matter and energy was only apparent with silage NA.3. Cows and heifers given silage FF from primary growth consumed 160g/kg more dry matter than those given silage NA (P < 0·01). This effect was not apparent when the animals were given regrowth silage. The effect of formic acid/formaldehyde on the intake of digestible energy was not significant in either period on the trial, but the inclusion of soya bean meal in the pellet significantly increased the intake of digestible energy (P < 0·01).4. Cows and heifers given silage FF from primary growth produced 90g/kg more milk and 50g/kg more solids-corrected milk than those given silage NA, but the differences were not significant and these trends were not apparent when regrowth silage was given. An increase in the crude protein content of supplement increased the milk (P < 0·01) and protein yield (P < 0·05) of cows, but not heifers, when they were given primary growth silage. The effect was less when milk output was expressed in terms of solids-corrected milk since milk fat content tended to fall when cows were given the HP supplement. Treatments had no significant effect on live-weight change.5. It is suggested that the increases in milk output were mediated via changes in the supply of energy rather than of protein.


1986 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Alawa ◽  
R. G. Hemingway

ABSTRACTIn two experiments, straw diets were supplemented with a concentrate mixture containing either untreated or formaldehyde-treated soya-bean meal. In experiment 1, adult wether sheep were given straw/concentrate mixtures in a 3:1 ratio (air-dry basis) in restricted amounts. In experiment 2, these proportions were adjusted to 3:2 and the growing lambs were offered straw at proportionately 0·05 to 0·1 greater than that eaten daily.In experiment 1, formaldehyde treatment of soya-bean meal depressed apparent nitrogen (N) digestibility (P < 0·001) although diet organic-matter digestibility was not affected. Formaldehyde treatment also tended to reduce N retention in experiment 1, whereas with growing lambs in experiment 2, it led to improved N retention. Plasma urea concentrations were reduced as a result of formaldehyde treatment of soya-bean meal. Digested N was more efficiently utilized by sheep given the treated soya-bean meal diet in experiment 2 but not in experiment 1. Lambs given the treated soya-bean meal diet tended to gain more live weight with marginally superior food conversion ratios while consuming similar amounts of dry matter as those given the untreated soya-bean meal-supplemented diet.


1991 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. A. S. Al-Saghier ◽  
R. C. Campling

ABSTRACTA series of change-over experiments examined the intake and digestibility of straw-based diets in yearling dairy heifers. Voluntary intakes of straws given as the sole food to yearling dairy heifers were 1·28, 1·20 and 0·90 kg dry matter (DM) per 100 kg live weight for barley, wheat and oat straws respectively, and the corresponding digestibility of organic matter was 0·47, 0·53 and 0·48. When supplemented with 2 kg rolled barley the intakes of straw did not alter, nor were they affected by replacing part of the rolled barley with an equal amount of soya-bean meal and thus increasing the dietary concentration of protein from about 50 to 110 g/kg DM. The use of molassed sugar-beet pulp in place of rolled barley reduced the intake of straw. Flaked maize promoted slightly higher intakes of straw than an equal amount of coarsely milled maize. Replacing rolled barley by lucerne hay reduced straw intake. It is estimated that, to provide sufficient energy and protein for a daily gain of 0·5 kg, heifer straw-based diets would require a supplement of 1·2 kg rolled barley and 0·8 kg soya-bean meal.


Author(s):  
P J Turner ◽  
D A Perks

A further experiment in a series of trials to look at the effects of treating straws on their feed values, and the responses to different supplements was carried out in the winter of 1982-83. The treatments were:-1)Untreated barley straw (DBS) plus 1.5 kg rolled barley/urea per day2)Ammonia treated barley straw (TBS) alone3)Ammonia treated wheat straw (TWS) alone4)Ammonia treated wheat straw (TWS) plus 0.5 kg rolled barley5)Ammonia treated wheat straw (TWS) plus 0.5 kg soya bean meal6)Ammonia treated wheat straw (TWS) plus 0.25 kg rolled barley and 0.25 kg fishmealThere were 7 Hereford x Friesian cows per treatment, all mature animals (third calvers or more) calved in May, bulled with a Charolais bull in July and calves weaned off and cows yarded in November 1982. The trial ran for 145 days from 25 November 1982 to 19 April I983 covering about months 4 to 8 of pregnancy. They were group fed.


1971 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Crabtree ◽  
G. L. Williams

SUMMARYThree levels of soya bean meal (0%, 25% and 50% of the intake of hay dry matter) combined with three levels of pelleted barley (0%, 50% and 100% of the intake of hay dry matter) in a factorial arrangement of treatments were offered to Welsh Mountain ewe lambs receiving hay ad libitum for 14 weeks.When barley was not given, soya bean meal added at 25% of the hay intake increased hay voluntary intake from 287 g/day to 412 g/day but hay intake was depressed to 339 g/day by a further increase in the level of soya bean meal. When barley was given, soya bean meal did not affect hay intake. With one exception, an increase in barley reduced hay intake, with the result that there were no differences between treatments in the digestible energy intakes of lambs receiving barley at each level of soya bean meal. In general, it was found that an increase in the concentrate allowance (barley + soya bean) reduced hay intake, whereas an increase in the crude protein content of the concentrate increased hay intake. The relationship between live-weight change, metabolizable energy intake and live weight was examined by regression analysis. Although live weight and voluntary intake were unrelated at the start of the experiment, a positive relationship emerged as the experiment progressed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 ◽  
pp. 40-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Enser ◽  
G. Demirel ◽  
J.D. Wood ◽  
G.R. Nute ◽  
A.M. Wachira ◽  
...  

Vitamin E is an important nutrient for lambs and low levels in tissues as a result of either low intake, poor absorption or excessive utilisation results in myopathy (pale muscle). The causes of deficiency are incompletely understood, especially as it can occur when lambs are consuming good quality grass containing high levels of vitamin E. We now report an occurrence of low tissue levels of vitamin E in lambs of two breeds raised on complete dry pelleted rations and its effect on meat quality and fatty acid composition.96 male lambs, half Suffolk x Lleyn and half Scottish Blackface, with average live weights of 24 kg and 18kg respectively were individually penned and randomly allocated to one of 6 isoenergetic isonitrogenous diets based on dried grass, molassed sugar beet pulp, soya bean meal and molasses and containing two levels of vitamin E, 100 (low) and 500 (high) g/kg DM.


1984 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. M. Fahmy ◽  
N. H. Lee ◽  
E. R. Ørskov

ABSTRACTFour experiments with sheep fitted with rumen cannulae were conducted to investigate whether the rate of digestion of ammonia-treated straw, estimated as disappearance of dry matter from nylon bags in the rumen, might be increased by supplements of either soya bean meal, sucrose or sugar beet pulp at a level of 0·1, or by increasing the concentrations of dietary soluble micro and macro minerals.There were no differences among treatments in rate and extent of digestion of straw due to supplementations.In another experiment, the effect of increasing the proportion of molassed sugar beet pulp or rolled barley on rate of digestion of ammonia-treated straw was investigated. A greater proportion of sugar beet pulp (0·45) could be included in the diet before the rate of digestion was decreased in comparison with rolled barley (0·35).Assuming that the digestibility of the sugar beet pulp and the rolled barley was not changed by the increasing proportion in the diet, it could be calculated that the digestibility of straw was reduced from 0·538 with straw alone to 0·403 with the sugar beet pulp and to 0·218 with the rolled barley supplement when the supplements were included at a level of 0·70.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. Wainman ◽  
P. J. S. Dewey

ABSTRACTFour diets containing either 0 or 50 g fat per kg were prepared from a basal mix of barley, sugar-beet pulp, soya-bean meal and molasses. The fats used were tallow (saturated), soya-acid oil (unsaturated), or a 45:5 mixture of both fats. The diets were given with chopped dried grass to adult wether sheep in the ratio 4:1 of diet to dried grass. Measurements of heat production of the sheep were made in closed-circuit respiration chambers and from the data the efficiencies of utilization of energy for maintenance (km) and production (kf) were calculated for each diet, together with the metabolizable energy (ME) values for the fats.Values for both km and kf were not significantly different between diets, the means were 0·81 and 0·61 respectively. The ME values (MJ/kg DM) of the fats were for tallow 36·2, for soya-acid oil 36·6 and for the tallow/soya mixture 31·6; these values were not significantly different.No evidence of any synergistic effect caused by the addition of an unsaturated fat to a saturated fat was seen in this experiment.


1985 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Morgan

ABSTRACTFour concentrate mixtures were given with grass silage to 52 cows in early lactation in an 8-week randomized block production trial. A further eight cows were used to measure apparent digestibilities of the total diets in a double 4 × 4 Latin-square trial.The concentrates contained varied proportions of barley, soya bean meal (soya) and formaldehyde-treated soya bean meal (treated soya) together with fixed proportions of wheatfeed and molasses. Crude protein (CP) concentrations in the concentrate mixtures and sources of supplementary protein were 133 g/kg air-dry concentrate, soya (A); 130 g/kg, treated soya (B); 187 g/kg, soya (C); 169 g/kg, soya plus treated soya (D). In the production trial, 9 kg concentrates were given daily together with silage ad libitum, whilst in the digestibility trial the daily ration was 7·6 kg concentrates and 6·6 kg silage dry matter (DM). The silage contained 462 g DM per kg and 140 g CP per kg DM with an in vitro digestibility of DM of 0·7.The digestibilities of DM, organic matter and energy showed similar trends. Cows given treatments A and B had significantly lower digestibilities of energy than did those given treatments C and D.Nitrogen digestibility was highest for cows given treatment C and lowest for those given treatments A and B. Silage DM intake and live-weight change were unaffected by treatment during weeks 1 to 8, all treatment groups being in positive live-weight balance in this period.Milk yields during weeks 1 to 8 were 18·8 (A), 19·6 (B), 20·3 (C) and 20·7 (D) kg/day. Yields for cows given treatments C and D were significantly higher than those for cows given treatment A. There were no differences between treatments for any constituent of milk, but protein concentration in milk tended to be lower for cows given treatment D. During weeks 9 to 20, there were no significant residual effects of treatment upon milk yield or composition.Parallel regression analysis of milk yield and yields of milk constituents upon CP concentration in the concentrate indicated significant effects of CP concentration on yield of milk, milk fat, protein and lactose during weeks 1 to 8. When examined during weeks 1 to 20 the responses to increased CP concentration were non-significant. The analysis showed a significant positive milk-yield response to formaldehyde treatment during weeks 1 to 8 and 1 to 20. The response in lactose yield was also significant during weeks 1 to 8 and 1 to 20. There was a trend, though not significant, towards an increased milk-fat yield during weeks 1 to 8 for the formaldehyde treatment, whilst protein yield was unaffected.


1974 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-471
Author(s):  
D. A. R. Davies ◽  
P. M. Lerman ◽  
Margaret M. Crosse

SUMMARYA food preference trial was carried out in which 21 artificially reared lambs were offered ad libitum a choice of eight foods for a period of 4 weeks commencing at 28 days of age.Growth rate and total food intake were highly variable but the lambs agreed substantially on what they liked and disliked. Soya-bean meal was the most preferred food throughout the experimental period. Flaked maize was very unacceptable for the first 12 days (up to 40 days of age) but after that its popularity rose steadily and considerably. Fish meal was quite popular at first but after 12 days had become the least preferred food and remained so for the remainder of the time.In the latter part of the experiment the foods could be classified into a more popular group comprising soya-bean meal, rolled barley and two proprietary pelleted diets, and a less popular group comprising fish meal, flaked maize, whole oats and sugar-beet pulp.It is argued that in order to be acceptable diets should not be coarse and either should not contain fish meal or have the flavour disguised.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document