Concentrate Feed Supplementation Research Articles

Reproductive Performances of SIMGOUD Crossbreed Cows and The Effect of Concentrate Feed Supplementation on The Production and Chemical Composition of Milk

Reproductive Performances of SIMGOUD Crossbreed Cows and The Effect of Concentrate Feed Supplementation on The Production and Chemical Composition of Milk

Relationship between concentrate feeding strategy and grassland phytodiversity on dairy farms

Permanent grassland provides various ecosystem services ranging from livestock feed provision to biodiversity preservation. With increased use of concentrate supplementation in dairy cow rations the importance of permanent grassland as the main feed resource in dairy production systems has decreased, although in Germany a large area of permanent grassland is still utilized by dairy farmers. How phytodiversity can be improved by adaptations at the production-system level other than by organic farming has rarely been examined. We hypothesize that in systems based on lower levels of concentrate feed supplementation farmers adjust their management to the different conditions of grassland sites in interaction with the distinct nutritional needs of the different animal groups in a more differentiated way. Thus, due to higher management diversity, a higher farm-level phytodiversity should be found on those farms. We examined the effect of feeding strategy (low level (LC) vs. typical regional concentrate feeding level (HC)) considering two types of farming systems (organic vs. conventional) in three grassland-dominated regions of Germany on management diversity as well as on overall species number per grassland sampling site (α diversity), per farm (γ diversity) and on the heterogeneity between the sampling sites of each farm (β diversity). The underlying sample comprised 388 vegetation surveys on permanent grassland of 28 farm pairs (HC+LC), whereof 15 were organic and 13 were conventional farm pairs. Phytodiversity indices differed significantly between Concentrate Categories or between Concentrate Categories in interaction with the Farming System. In conventional farming systems grassland phytodiversity at site and farm level (α and γ diversity, respectively) were significantly higher on LC farms than on HC farms and conventional HC farms had less high nature value plant species in their grasslands. On organic farms these parameters were comparable to the conventional LC farms for both Concentrate Categories. In the northern study region phytodiversity indices were overall smaller than in the southern and central study regions. Across regions, management diversity as expressed in the number of grass products on farm level and plant species heterogeneity between sampling sites (β diversity) were higher on LC than on HC farms irrespective of farming systems which was underlined by a significantly positive relationship. On LC farms 4.8 ± 0.9 and on HC farms 4.1 ± 1.3 grass products were produced. Our results indicate that a feeding strategy with low concentrate input is one way to improve grassland phytodiversity, especially in conventional farming systems under central European conditions.

The effect of grass silage harvesting strategy and concentrate level on feed intake, diet digestibility and milk production of dairy cows

Two experiments were conducted under Northern European conditions to quantify dairy cow responses to variable grass silage quality and concentrate feed supplementation. Experiment 1 included 3 primary growth grass silages (early, intermediate and late maturity stage) supplemented with three concentrate levels (9, 12 and 15 kg d-1). Experiment 2 included three consecutive harvests (first, second and third harvest from the same sward within the growing season) and three levels of concentrate supplementation (9, 11 and 13 kg d-1). Dairy cows responded clearly to changes in the harvesting time of silage in primary growth (quadratic effect) and amount of concentrate (linear effect) in the diet in Experiment 1. Milk yield was the lowest with third harvest silage in Experiment 2, and responses to increasing concentrate allowance were linear. Interactions between silage quality and concentrate supplementation were detected in Experiment 1, where milk production responses to additional concentrate decreased with increasing silage digestibility. No interactions were found in Experiment 2, probably due to the small range of differences in nutritional quality between the silages prepared from different harvests. The results demonstrated that it is difficult to compensate for low silage digestibility by increasing the amount of concentrate. The variable ECM response (from –0.01 to 0.85 kg ECM per kg DM incremental concentrate in the diet) is explained by the concomitant decrease in silage intake and negative effect on diet neutral detergent fibre digestibility.

Various Effects of Concentrate Feed Supplementation at Different Physiological Stages in Madras Red Sheep

Background: Majority of the sheep farmers in our country (semi arid region) do not supplement with concentrate feed even in critical physiological stages. It was observed that concentrate supplementation in addition to free grazing substantially improved production performance of ewes and lambs. Methods: In this study the parameters such as conception rate, birth weight of lambs, fortnightly body weight changes, rumen fermentation pattern and blood parameters were recorded. Result: Out of twenty sheep in each group 16, 18 and 19 were exhibited oestrous symptoms and the percentage of heat observed were 80, 90 and 95 in the G1, G2 and G3, respectively. The numbers of animals conceived were 12, 14 and 17 and the conception percentage was 75, 77 and 89. The concentrate supplemented group showed higher conception rate. The numbers of lambs born were 12, 14 and 17 and the lambing percentages were 75, 78 and 89 for the G1, G2 and G3, respectively. The rumen pH was found to be decreasing in G3 group followed by G2 group when compared to G1 group whereas, the production of VFA was found to be higher in G3 group followed by G2 group when compared to G1 group. There were increased levels of total nitrogen, TCA nitrogen and NP nitrogen in sheep at 4 hours after feeding of concentrate feed in G3 group followed by G2 group when compared to G1 group. The results indicated that the higher levels of blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and BUN were observed in G3 group followed by G2 group when compared to G1 group.

Life cycle assessment of pasture-based suckler steer weanling-to-beef production systems: Effect of breed and slaughter age

Demand for beef produced from pasture-based diets is rising as it is perceived to be healthier, animal friendly and good for the environment. Animals reared on a solely grass forage diet, however, have a lower growth rate than cereal-fed animals and consequently are slaughtered at an older age. This study focused on the former by conducting life cycle assessments of beef production systems offering only fresh or conserved grass, and comparing them to a conventional pasture-based beef production system offering concentrate feeding during housing. The four suckler weanling-to-beef production systems simulated were: (i) Steers produced to slaughter entirely on a grass forage diet at 20 months (GO-20); (ii) Steers produced to slaughter entirely on a grass forage diet at 24 months (GO-24); (iii) Steers produced to slaughter on a grass forage diet with concentrate supplementation during housing (GC-24), and (iv) Steers produced to slaughter entirely on a grass forage diet at 28 months (GO-28). Two breed types were evaluated: early-maturing and late-maturing (LM). The environmental impacts assessed were global warming potential (GWP), non-renewable energy (NRE), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (marine (MEP) and freshwater) were expressed per animal, per kg live weight gain (LWG), kg carcass weight gain, and kg meat weight gain (MWG). The GO-20 production system had the lowest environmental impact across all categories and functional units for both breeds. Extending age at slaughter increased environmental impact across all categories per animal. The LWG response of EM steers to concentrate feed supplementation in GC-24 was greater than the increase in total environmental impact resulting in GC-24 having a lower environmental impact across categories per kg product than GO-24. Concentrate feed supplementation had a similar effect on LM steers with the exception of NRE and AP. The increase in daily LWG in the third grazing season in comparison to the second grazing and housing resulted in GO-28 having lower GWP, NRE, AP, and MEP per kg product than GO-24. Early-maturing steers had lower environmental impact than LM when expressed per kg LWG. However the opposite occurred when impacts were expressed per kg MWG, despite LM steers producing the least LWG. The LM steers compensated for poor LWG performance by having superior carcass traits, which caused the breed to have the lowest environmental impact per kg MWG. The results reaffirms the importance of functional unit and suggests reducing the environmental impact of LWG does not always translate into improvements in the environmental performance of meat.

Effect of different levels of concentrate feed supplementation on post-weaning growth, carcass traits and economics in salem black Kids

Effect of different levels of concentrate feed supplementation on post-weaning growth, carcass traits and economics in salem black Kids

Growth and carcass characteristics of Afar lambs at two concentrate levels supplementation and slaughter weights fed Tef Straw Basal Diet

An experiment arranged in 2×2 factorial was carried out to evaluate the effect of concentrate levels, targeted live weights, and their interaction on live and carcass performance of Afar lambs. Forty yearling lambs were divided into 5 groups; one group was slaughtered at the beginning of the experiment and the other groups were randomly assigned to four treatments. Significantly (P≤0.05) higher dry matter intake DMI (740.38 g) was noted for lambs assigned to a higher (500 g) concentrate supplemented groups than 688.03 g recorded for lower (300 g) concentrate supplemented categories. Lambs finished for 30 kg live weight took longer (P≤0.001) feeding days (180) than the group targeted 30 kg slaughter body weight, which lapsed 91 days. Animals allotted to 500 g concentrate feed supplementation showed higher (P≤ 0.001) DWG (112.6 g) and FCE (0.15) than 300 g supplemented groups. The effect of concentrate levels and targeted body weights were significant on the majority parameters measured. It could be concluded that 500 g concentrate feed supplement and 30 kg target slaughter weight (T3) is the best strategy to finish yearling Afar lambs in 70 days of feeding for improved performance and economic of feeding. Key words: Afar sheep, carcass, concentrate, slaughter weight, Tef straw.

Effect of concentrate feed supplementation during different physiological stages in Madras Red Sheep

This study was undertaken to assess the performance of Madras Red sheep fed concentrate feed at different physiological stages such as prior to breeding (14 days), late gestation (last 42 days) and early lactation (first 60 days) and compounded feed for growing lambs up to 120 days of age. The study was conducted at Postgraduate Research Institute in Animal Sciences, Kattupakkam, Tamil Nadu. In this, sixty ewes were selected in the age group of 3 to 5 years and divided into three groups with twenty in each group. The first group was allowed for grazing for seven hours daily from 9.00 A.M to 4.00 P.M and served as control group (G1).The second and third group (G2 and G3) of animals were supplemented with concentrate feed @ 10% and 20% of their daily dry matter requirement, respectively. The result indicates that the supplementation of concentrate feed to sheep significantly (p less than 0.05) improved the production and reproduction performance of sheep in terms of body weight gain during late pregnancy and early lactation, conception rate, lambing percentage, birth weight and ADG of lambs in group (G3) when compared to concentrate feed supplementation @ 10 % of dry matter requirement (G2) or non-supplemented groups (G1). It is concluded that the net profit available per ewe was more in G3 followed by G 2 and G1 groups.

Concentrate Feed Supplementation During Late Gestation and Lactation in Madras Red Sheep

A study was undertaken to assess birth weight, milk intake and growth performance of Madras Red sheep maintained on grazing alone (G-1) and supplemented graded levels of concentrate feed (10 and 20% of dry matter requirements) during late gestation (last 42 days) and lactation (up to 60 days) in G-2 and G-3 groups. Lambs were fed concentrate feed @ 10 and 20% of their DM requirements up to 120 days in G2 and G3 groups respectively. Body weight gains in ewes during late gestation were 1.39±0.24, 1.43±0.03 and 1.66±0.17 kg in G-1, G-2 and G-3 groups, respectively. Birth weight of lambs in G-2 (2.77kg) and G-3 (2.83kg) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than G-1 (2.60kg) group. Milk intake of lambs in G-2 and G-3 groups were significantly (P<0.05) higher compared to G-1 group. It was inferred that supplementation of concentrate feed to adult sheep @ 20% of dry matter requirements during late gestation and lactation not only improves the body weight of ewes but also increases the birth weight and the milk intake and subsequent body weight of lambs.

Effect of Concentrate Feed Supplementation on The Reproductive Performance of Madras Red Sheep

Effect of Concentrate Feed Supplementation on The Reproductive Performance of Madras Red Sheep

Water intake and utilization in mithun (Bos frontalis): Effect of environmental temperature, rearing system and concentrate feed supplement

Seasonal and sexual variations as well as the effect of dry feed supplement on total drinking water intake and its utilization were observed in mithun (Bos frontalis) — a semi-wild animal found in North Eastern Hill Region (NEHR) of India. In a completely randomized design, twelve adult mithuns (B. frontalis) as per their sex and body weight were assigned in two different rearing systems (free grazing and free grazing with dry concentrate feed supplementation), and ten growing male mithuns as per their body weight assigned in two different levels of dry concentrate feed supplementation (1.0 kg and 2.0 kg dry concentrate feeds on green forage based diet) and in two different seasons (summer and winter). It was observed that the environmental temperature had a significant effect on drinking water intake by mithuns. Drinking water consumption (per unit of body weight) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in summer than in winter. Supplementation of concentrate feed on free grazing animals resulted in increase in water consumption. Total water consumption (drinking as well as performed water) was found to be 15.18 litres per 100 kg body weight by growing mithun. Feed dry matter and digestible nutrient intakes by growing mithun were observed to be increased with the increase of supplementation of dry concentrate feed. Roughage to concentrate ratio did not affect the nutrient digestibility. Mithun calves drank an average of 4.30 litres water for each kg of dry matter intake. Metabolic water was significantly (P<0.01) increased with the increase of supplementation of concentrate feed whereas water turn over, which depends upon the body weight of the animals, did not differ significantly on offering of lower or higher level of dry feed. Faecal water loss of growing mithun was decreased with the increase in intake of concentrate feed and was estimated to be 33 ∼ 40% of total water intake. Excretion of water through faeces of mithun was about 3.8 % of body weight. It could, therefore, be inferred that water intake by mithun varied with seasons, rearing systems and dry feed consumption. As far as the water nutrition is concerned, it is needed to give an attention while feeding mithun in summer with dry feed supplementation under semi-intensive system of rearing.

Estimation of Milk Production from Smallholder Dairy Cattle in the Coastal Lowlands of Kenya

A study was carried out on 92 smallholder farms in Kwale district in Coast Province of Kenya to estimate the milk yield. The effect of concentrate feed supplementation on milk yield was also evaluated. Data were collected during a one-year observational longitudinal study. Analysis was done for 371 observations following 63 calving events. The mean annual milk offtake was estimated at 2021 kg/cow. Forty-nine (77.8%) of the lactating cows were supplemented with concentrate feeds at varying rates of 0.5-3.0 kg/cow per day. Supplementary feeding of lactating cows led to a significantly higher mean daily milk yield compared to non-supplemented cows throughout the year (p < 0.05). The mean annual milk offtake from supplemented cows (2195 kg/cow) was 18.6% more than offtake from non-supplemented cows, a difference that was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Therefore, supplementary feeding of commercial feed concentrates was a rational management practice. It was also concluded that milk production from smallholder dairy cows in the coastal lowlands of Kenya was comparable to that from similar production systems but lower than national targets.

Effect of complex catalytic supplementation with non-protein nitrogen on the ruminal ecosystem of growing goats pasturing on shrub land in Mexico

Thirty-eight young Alpine goats, 16.1 (±0.370) kg body weight (BW), were reared at Querétaro, Mexico, grazing on a semi-arid woody brush ( Caducifolio espinoso) range land. The experimental goats ( n = 20) were pastured daily and supplemented with 200 g/day of a complex catalytic feed (CCF). It consisted of molasses (14–18%), urea (8–10%), salt (3–4%), limestone (3–4%), cottonseed meal (13–18%), rice polishing (10–13%), corn (11–12%), poultry litter (9–10%), commercial mineral salt (1.3%), ammonium sulfate (0.3–0.5%), cement kiln dust (1.5%), and animal lard (10–15%). The control goats ( n = 18) were supplemented daily with 300 g of a balanced concentrate (BC), containing 1.5% commercial mineral salt, 60% corn, 32.5% wheat bran, and 4% soybean oil meal. Stocking rates varied from 1.45 to 1.85 AU/ha and daily stocking rate from 36.4 to 58.6 AU/ha. At all times, fibrous forages were available exceeding the voluntary dry matter intake. One fistulated goat was kept in each group. Growth of the experimental goats averaged 95 g/day (±3) compared to 76 g/day (±5) of the controls ( P < 0.005) in 150 days from June to November. Supplementation per kg BW was from 17.5 to 10.4 g BC/day for the control goats; the experimental goats received 12.2–6.5 g CCF/day. Weight gain in response to fermentable carbohydrates (FC) averaged 8.95 g BW gain/g FC/day for the control BC goats, compared to 28.2 g BW gain/g FC/day for the experimental CCF goats. Daily supplies of FC to goats on CCF supplementation were always below the limits for celullolysis at 6 g/day, while FC supplies of BC rations to the control goats always exceeded them. After 2 h of shrub land pasture, the ruminal pH rose when CCF was offered and stayed above 6.6 during 12 h, while the ruminal acidity in BC goats went down to pH 5.57 at 6 h and rose to 6.5 by 12 h. Ammonia (NH 3 mg/l) in ruminal liquid of CCF goats was higher ( P < 0.01) in average and all but one sample. Total cost per animal per day including shrub land pasture, management, medicine and salaries was US $0.06 for experimental goats and US $0.09 for controls (market price for goat meat was US $1.15/kg; US $1.00 = 10 Mexican Pesos, November 1998). Daily gain varied during the study period from 77 to 85 g/day in BC control goats compared to 92–97 g/day in experimental CCF goats. CCF supplementation to shrub land pasturing resulted in significantly greater weight gains apparently due to elevated ruminal pH, higher availability of fermentable carbohydrates and ruminal ammonia, augmenting ruminal ecosystem, digestibility and voluntary feed intake. The use of local shrub land resources and complex catalytic supplementation with non-protein nitrogen provided greater profitability from this feeding system for growing goats than the traditional balanced concentrate feed supplementation.

Effect of concentrate supplementation and season on apparent digestibility and growth performance of sheep in smallholder production system

The effect of concentrate feed supplementation, healthcare and season on dry matter and nitrogen apparent digestibility and growth performance of sheep were investigated in the smallholder production system. A total of 819 sheep belonging to 36 smallholder farmers were studied. Animals in each pen were randomly assigned to one of 2 feeding regimes. The first regime (control) was grazing and crop residues supplementation (75 g DM/d). In the second regime, sheep were treated as in first and given an additional package of concentrate feed (180 g DM/d) plus orthodox prophylactic and curative healthcare. Dry matter and nitrogen apparent digestibility and growth performance of animals were determined seasonally. The dry matter intake among animals on concentrate supplementation was higher (P&lt;0.05) than those on control (608 vs. 515 g DM/d) but the faecal output was similar. Seasonally, DM intake was found highest during the early wet season (679 g DM/d) and lowest in the main wet season (397 g DM/d). Nitrogen intake was significantly affected by concentrate supplementation (11 vs. 8 g DM/d for concentrate supplemented and control groups respectively). Season significantly affected dry matter and nitrogen digestibility with the early wet season having the highest digestibility. The concentrate supplementation and healthcare provision package improved feed digestibility and increased ADG of animals from 19 g/d to 34 g/d in the smallholder production system.