Productive Performance of Lactating Crossbred Dairy Cows Fed with Wheat Straw‐Based Densified Complete Feed Block

Abstract

The experiment was designed to determine the effect of feeding densified complete feed block (DCFB) on the production performances of lactating F1 Friesian x Borena crossbred cows. Four mid‐lactating multiparous cows with 2–5 parity having similar milk yield (8–10 l·day−1) were evaluated using 4 × 4 Latin square design for a total of 84 days. The treatments include natural pasture hay supplemented with a concentrate mixture at the rate of 0.5 kg·l−1 of milk yield·cow−1 (T1) and three different wheat straw‐based DCFBs in the ratio of 50 : 50 (T2), 40 : 60 (T3), and 30 : 70 (T4). The result revealed that the average daily dry matter (DM) intake was similar among all dietary treatments except for T2 that had lower (P < 0.05) daily DM intake. The crude protein (CP) and organic matter (OM) intakes for cows in T3 and T4 were comparable (P > 0.05) but significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared to T1 and T2. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake remained the same among treatment groups while T1 consumed higher (P < 0.05) acid detergent fiber (ADF) compared to other diets. Cows in T3 and T4 groups had higher (P < 0.05) DM and OM digestibility but comparable (P > 0.05) NDF and ADF digestibility compared to T1. The CP digestibility and daily average milk yield were higher (P < 0.05) for T4. Daily fat, protein, and lactose yield in the DCFB group showed an increasing trend with the level of concentrate, whereas cows in the T4 group exceptionally produced higher (P < 0.05) yields. Fat‐corrected milk yield (FCM) was lower (P < 0.05) for T4 compared to T1 and T2 groups. Milk fat percentages were lower (P < 0.05) but milk protein percentages were higher for cows in T4 but similar for the rest of the diets. Milk lactose did not vary (P > 0.05) over all the treatments. Milk conversion efficiency was similar (P > 0.05) among the DCFB but higher (P < 0.05) for control cows. The partial budget analysis indicated that net profit and marginal return were much higher for diet in the ratio of 40 : 60. Inclusion of wheat straw at 40% could be an efficient feeding option for F1 Friesian x Borena lactating crossbred cows managed under indoor conditions. However, DCFB manufacturing and distribution at a large scale requires machineries (chopper/grinder, mixer, and compressor). Further study needs to evaluate the storability and strength of the DCFBs under varying storage conditions and the long‐term effect of DCFB on milk yield and quality of improved lactating dairy cows in Ethiopia.