Abstract
In a 16-week winter-feeding experiment, 3 groups of dairy cows were fed on either silage ad libitum or restricted amounts of silage (6 and 4 kg dry matter (DM) day −1 and a straw and concentrate mixture (straw-mix) ad libitum. The straw-mix contained (per kg DM): sodium hydroxide-treated straw (540 g): ground barley (260 g); soya bean meal (180 g); mineral and vitamin supplement (20 g). All animals received a flat rate of 9 kg concentrate day −1 throughout the experiment. The silage had a lower metabolisable energy (ME) content than the straw-mix (9.8 compared with 10.2 MJ kg −1 DM) and a higher crude protein (CP) content (161 compared with 141 g kg −1 DM). Restricting the amount of silage and including the straw-mix in the diet increased the total DM and ME intake. The cows given silage ad libitum had a significantly lower milk yield and protein yield than those given 4 kg silage DM day −1 plus the straw-mix. There were no significant differences between treatments in milk composition. Animals on silage ad libitum lost liveweight over the 16 weeks, whilst those on the other 2 treatments maintained their liveweight.
Published Version
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