Value of Alfalfa Silage in the Diet of the Young Dairy Calf1,2

Abstract

Texts on dairy cattle feeding and management through the years have indi- cated generally that silage was of little value for tile dairy calf; however, a review of the literature yields little scientific data as to the value of high quality hay-crop silage for nutrients for the young calf. Sykes et al. (10) have reported oll a comparison of alfalfa hay and alfalfa silage for dairy heifers from birth to 24 months of age, in a limited milk and grain feeding system. They concluded that high levels of alfalfa silage would not promote normal growth. Their data show, however, that treatment differences relative to growth were slight up to 5 months of age and most pronounced from 5 to 12 months of age. Poor or average quality hay has been found inadequate for the young dairy calf raised under a limited whole milk and grain system of feeding (2, 3, 4). The weather in the northeastern states is a constant threat to the harvesting of high quality field-cured hay (1, 8). Many dairymen now produce good quality hay-crop silage year after year, regardless of poor hay-drying conditions. It appears conceivable that the over-all level of the quality of roughage being fed to young dairy animals might rise more rapidly if hay-crop silage could be utilized satisfactorily in their rations. The objectives of the present study were to determine: 1. The feasibility of feeding high quality alfalfa silage as the only source of roughage to calves. 2. The effect of supplementing alfalfa hay with alfalfa silage in the ration of calves. 3. The efficacy of feeding maximum levels of roughage to calves while re- stricting concentrate intake.