Cattle feed: varieties and nutritional value, diet formulation

Cattle farmers pay great attention to the quality and balance of feed, as the productivity of animals depends on it. For the production of feed for cattle, fresh and dried grass, juicy vegetable food, grain, residues of flour milling and food production are used. In order for livestock to produce high-quality meat and milk, concentrates, vitamin supplements, feed from animal components are included in the diet.

Green feed

Green feed for cattle - meadow and floodplain grasses. Cattle are either taken out to pasture or the grass is cut to feed the animals.During the summer months, a cow eats 50-70 kg of fresh green fodder daily. Grass is easily digested in the digestive tract of cattle, saturates the body with proteins, organic acids, vitamins, mineral elements. Young plants are especially useful; in overgrown plants, the concentration of proteins and vitamins decreases.

It is desirable that among the meadow grasses there are legumes saturated with phosphorus and calcium:

• clover;
• field peas;
• alfalfa;
• vika.

In 1 kg of meadow grass there are 25 g of protein, 3 g of calcium, 0.8 g of phosphorus, up to 70 mg of carotenoids. The nutritional value is 0.2 feed units.

Hay

During the winter months, hay becomes the main source of nutrients for cattle. A cow consumes up to 30 kg of dried grass per day. The most rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber is hay obtained from meadow vegetation cut in floodplains, in flood meadows, on the slopes of hills.The nutritional value of roughage is determined not only by the plant composition, but also by compliance with the mowing terms, drying and storage rules.

The total moisture content of the dried grass should be 15-17%. Such hay is stored in a barn for a long time without loss of quality. Signs of feed quality are a greenish tint, indicating a high concentration of amino acids, a pleasant aroma and the presence of not only stems, but also young leaves in the composition. The highest percentage of nutrients contains hay from plants mowed in the initial phase of flowering.

Feeding cattle with high-quality hay, you can get up to 10 liters of milk per day from one individual. 1 kg of meadow hay contains 50 g of protein, 6.5 g of calcium, 2 g of phosphorus, 10 mg of carotenoids. In 1 kg of clover - 80 g of protein, 13 g of calcium, 3.5 g of phosphorus, 25 mg of carotenoids. Nutritional value - 0.5 feed units. Dried leaves of cereals and beans contain 2 times more proteins and minerals, 10 times more carotenoids than shoots.

Root crops, tubers and gourds

For feeding cattle use:

• fodder beets;
• turnips (turnips);
• rutabaga;
• carrot;
• pumpkin;
• zucchini;
• potato tubers (raw, boiled after sprouting);
• Jerusalem artichoke;
• fodder watermelon.

The listed juicy feeds have a milk-producing effect, are easily digested, improve appetite and the functioning of the digestive tract of cattle. All year round they are fed to dairy cattle, it is especially important to include them in the diet of a calving cow in the first weeks after the birth of a calf. Given the milk yield, a cow is given up to 30 kg of root crops, and potato tubers and beets - up to 15 kg. Before feeding, root crops and tubers are thoroughly cleaned of adhering earth, cut into large pieces.

Due to high juiciness and liquid content from 70 to 90%, root crops are poorly stored, rot at high temperatures, freeze in frost from -3 ° C, and are affected by insects, especially if their shell is damaged. Dry, clean products with whole skins and unfrozen flesh are used as feed for cattle.

The shed where cattle feed is stored must be dry, ventilated, the optimum indoor temperature is +2 °C. If root crops are stored in heaps, then ventilation pipes are made, the upper and side parts are covered with straw 50 cm thick, then with earth 30 cm thick.

Concentrated feed

To make up for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals, cattle are given concentrates, which include beans, cereal grains, waste from flour milling and processing of agricultural products.This also includes sources of minerals (s alt stones) and animal feed (meat and bone meal, fodder molasses, milk and dairy industry waste).

Food supplements for cattle include growth promoters. They not only accelerate the growth of fattening animals, but also improve digestive function. Concentrated feeds are processed to improve digestibility for cattle. They are crushed, flattened, germinated or fermented.

Cereal feed

Cattle are given wheat, barley and oats. Grain feed is an excellent supplier of starch to the body of cattle, which is necessary for maintaining energy. A dairy cow is given up to 5 kg of feed per day. Grain for livestock is flattened or crushed.

Wheat and barley increase milk protein yield and concentration, promote weight gain in cattle. These cereals should not be given to livestock in excess, because due to the high content of starch and low fiber content, the likelihood of acidosis (increased acidity) and bloating of the stomach is high.

When including grains in the diet, you need to ensure that the cow gets enough fiber, as well as foods rich in tocopherol and selenium.

Oats have more fiber than other grains. Starch does not break down as quickly as in wheat and barley, so the likelihood of acidity and stomach upset in cattle is lower. The concentration of polyunsaturated acids is higher, which is why milk has a lower percentage of milk fat.

The table shows the content (in %) of nutrients in different types of grain feed:

ProteinsStarchSugarFats wheat barley oats 12.54426

Type of grain
10	75	3	2.5
10	67	4	2.5

Branch and humus feeds

Spring straw is a low-quality feed containing few nutrients and vitamins. But it, being a roughage, has a positive effect on the digestion of cattle. It is used during the winter months as feed for low and medium production cattle. For high performance cattle, straw must be paired with succulent feed, bagasse or bran to increase nutritional value.

Excellent vitamin feed for cattle - coniferous flour, which can be made independently from dried needles by grinding vegetable raw materials in a blender. It is given to cattle during the winter months to prevent deficiency of carotenoids, ascorbic acid, B-group vitamins.

Ensiled feed

Silage is a popular feed for cattle because it is cheap with high nutritional value.Nutrients contained in the feed ensure high milk production during the winter months. A cow eats 3-5 kg of feed per day. To prepare silage, they dig a trench, line it with polyethylene. Pour and tamp the grass. Previously, it is lightly dried. If the herbal mass releases a lot of juice, then chopped straw is added. The mass is left for 3 days, then covered with a film, earth is poured on top.

Quality deep green silage, smells like soaked apples. It contains a lot of sugars and lactic acid. The degree of digestibility of feed depends on the component composition. The highest quality is combined silage, which contains both easily digestible and hardly digestible components in equal proportions.

To increase the milk yield of cattle, it is recommended to add pumpkin to the combined silage.

Hylage

For the preparation of roughage for cattle, grass is preserved. It is dried until the humidity is 40-60%, stored in the absence of oxygen, which retains a maximum of useful elements, and the loss of dry mass does not exceed 12%, which is much less than that of hay.

Combined feeds

Versatile and convenient feed for cattle - combined. It is made taking into account the daily need of cattle in vitamins, minerals, nutrients, without which the high performance of animals is impossible. The nutritional value of compound feed is determined by the percentage of dry matter. When using wet compound feed, it must be taken into account that for every 100 kg of body weight of cattle, there should be less than 3 kg of dry matter.

For feeding cattle in stalls, rough combined feed and residues of agricultural production are used. The daily portion of compound feed is determined taking into account the daily amount of milk received from a cow.

If the milk yield is low, then 5 kg of feed is enough, if the cow is highly productive, then 8 kg.

Feed options by component composition (in%) for cattle of different ages and purposes are shown in the table:

barley251515613037wheat -3028-27-oats- -corn 16----5peas -6----bran 15 2415meal20 62022-20cake - ---9 2--- ---yeast5-- 8--urea -1- -212 2 -chalk---1 -1s alt111 1 10--- - -molasses--5-- - premix2 1111 1

Fodder	Sire	Cow (3000 l annual milk yield)	Cow (5000 l annual milk yield)	Cow (annual milk yield 8000 l)	Calf under 6 months	Fatted calves
	30	7	-	15
-	20	4
		-	20		green flour	-
		-		fish meal	5	-
-	-		orthophosphate	1
						1
1		sugar

In order to maintain the productivity of cattle, it is important not only to make the diet correctly, but also to observe the feeding regimen, give grain and juicy feed in the first half of the day, and coarse feed in the second. In summer, cattle should be fed on the pasture, and in winter, feed rich in vitamins and minerals should be included in the diet.

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