Document Detail


Effects of feeding alfalfa hay on chewing, rumen pH, and milk fat concentration of dairy cows fed wheat dried distillers grains with solubles as a partial substitute for barley silage.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20630240     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The objective of this study was to determine the effects of feeding alfalfa hay on chewing activity, rumen fermentation, and milk fat concentration of dairy cows fed wheat-based dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) as a partial replacement of barley silage. Thirty lactating Holstein cows (220+/-51 DIM), 6 of which were ruminally cannulated, were used in a 3 x 3 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Cows were fed a control diet [CON; 50% barley silage and 50% concentrate mix on a dry matter (DM) basis], a diet in which barley silage was replaced with DDGS at 20% of dietary DM (DG), or a diet in which barley silage was replaced with DDGS and alfalfa hay at 20 and 10% of dietary DM, respectively (DG+AH). All diets contained approximately 20% crude protein. Compared with the CON diet, cows fed DG and DG+AH diets respectively had greater DM intake (20.1 vs. 23.1 and 22.7 kg/d); yields of milk (24.5 vs. 27.3 and 28.1 kg/d), milk protein (0.88 vs. 0.99 and 1.01 kg/d), and milk lactose (1.11 vs. 1.24 and 1.29 kg/d); and body weight gain (0.25 vs. 1.17 and 1.23 kg/d). However, compared with cows fed the CON diet, cows fed the DG and DG+AH diets respectively had lower chewing time (38.3 vs. 30.7 and 31.5 min/kg of DM intake), mean rumen pH (6.11 vs. 5.88 and 5.84), and minimum rumen pH (5.28 vs. 5.09 and 5.07) and a greater duration that rumen pH was below 5.8 (7.3 vs. 11.2 and 12.0 h/d). However, these response variables did not differ between cows fed the DG and DG+AH diets. Milk fat concentration differed among the 3 diets (3.92, 3.60, and 3.38% for CON, DG, and DG+AH, respectively), but milk fat yield was not affected by treatment. These results indicate that partially replacing barley silage with DDGS can improve productivity of lactating dairy cows but may decrease chewing time, rumen pH, and milk fat concentration, and that dietary inclusion of alfalfa hay may not alleviate such responses.
Authors:
S Z Zhang; G B Penner; M Abdelqader; M Oba
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of dairy science     Volume:  93     ISSN:  1525-3198     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Dairy Sci.     Publication Date:  2010 Jul 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-07-15     Completed Date:  2010-12-14     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  2985126R     Medline TA:  J Dairy Sci     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  3243-52     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright (c) 2010 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2P5, Canada.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Cattle
Dairying
Diet / veterinary*
Eating / physiology
Fats / analysis*
Fatty Acids / analysis
Female
Hordeum / metabolism
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Lactation / physiology
Mastication / physiology*
Medicago sativa / metabolism*
Milk / chemistry*
Rumen / metabolism*
Silage
Triticum / metabolism*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Fats; 0/Fatty Acids

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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