Abstract
Intake, rumen function and NDF kinetics in mature dairy heifers in Tanzania maintained on poor quality hay as affected by sugar, starch, nitrogen or mineral supplementation
Highlights
During the long dry season, tropical forages are of low quality due to high fibre content and deficiency in important nutrients like proteins that are vital for rumen microbial growth and overall animal performance (Preston and Leng, 1987; Leng, 1990)
The CP content of the feeds varied greatly, with the concentrate mixture having the highest followed by maize bran, hay, molasses and cassava flour
The Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content was highest in hay (75.2%), medium in maize bran and concentrate (32 and 38% of DM), respectively and assumed to be zero in molasses
Summary
During the long dry season, tropical forages are of low quality due to high fibre content and deficiency in important nutrients like proteins that are vital for rumen microbial growth and overall animal performance (Preston and Leng, 1987; Leng, 1990). Protein supplements can increase forage intake and digestibility and improve animal performance (Poppi and McLennan, 1995). Research on the use of various sources of nitrogen to improve utilization of poor quality roughage commonly used in Tanzania has been going on for some time (Shayo et al, 1997). Though smallholder dairy farmers use sources of energy like maize bran, molasses and cassava, and a feed additive called “Magadi”, there has been little effort to evaluate how these ingredients affect rumen fibre kinetics and overall rumen fermentation. The aim of this paper was to investigate how these supplements can affect intake and digestibility
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