Effects of Level and Degradability of Rapeseed Meal in Rations for Dairy Cows. 1. Animal Performance

Abstract

Abstract A total of 44 dairy cows of the Swedish Red and White dual-purpose breed were divided into 4 equal groups. Two groups were fed concentrate containing approximately 19% crude protein (high level), while two groups were fed concentrate containing 14.3% crude protein (low level). The differences were obtained by mixing either 25 or 8% 00-rapeseed meal into a basic grain-dominated mixture. Within each protein level, one half of the cows were allotted untreated rapeseed meal and the other half heat-treated rapeseed meal. The heat treatment decreased the effective protein degradability of the rapeseed meal by 20 units from 72 to 52%. The experiment was commenced as a continuous experiment, where weeks 1–3 of the lactation were a preliminary period in which all cows received the same feeding. The experimental period covered lactation weeks 4–20. When the experiment was analysed, the results from the preliminary period were used as covariates. Significant treatment effects were reached both for level and...