Abstract
The objective of this work was to establish an approaching method for TMR feeding system in the farm sit- uation by testing the effects of herd-mix feeding system on the performance of lactating cows. Fifty six Holstein cows were fed for the experimental period of 16 months. Prior to test the herd-mix feeding system, animals were kept on conventional feeding system for 4 months, separate feeding of forage with concentrate, then provided 3 types of herd-mix rations formulated by mean level of energy concentration requirement of higher 1/2 ranker in each herd for remaining 12 months to compare the effect on milk yield performance of animals with conventional feeding system by using a switch-over method. The herd-mix feeding system influenced substantially upon the improvements of milk yield(P < 0.01) and milk fat percentage(P < 0.05). In all of lactational ages, milk yield and milk fat were enhanced by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, actual milk yield(AMY) and milk fat in the 1st lactating cows, and AMY and 4.0% fat corrected milk yield(FCM) in the 2nd lactating cows were increased significantly by the herd-mix feeding system(P < 0.05). In the early and mid-stage of lactation, the herd-mix feeding system showed higher AMY and FCM compared with the conventional feeding system although the milk fat was not different. AMY, milk fat and FCM in the late-stage of lactation were increased generally by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, milk fat and FCM obtained by the herd-mix feeding system were significantly higher than those by the conventional feeding system(P < 0.01). The herd-mix feeding system showed a good type of milking curve with a higher persistency of FCM(93.24 %) than in conventional one(92.69 %). The income over feed cost with the herd-mix feeding system was 1.4-fold higher than that with the conventional feeding method. In con- clusion, the results of this work suggest that the herd-mix feeding system based on a correct level of energy concentration of TMR and well-determined feed ingredients increases not only milk yield of dairy herd by en- hancing the performance of cows in early to mid stage of lactation with improved milk persistency but also gross income of dairy farm.
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