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A comparison of hay and strawmix as forages for preweaned calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

R. Njei ,
C.J.C. Phillips  and
L. Weiguo
R. Njei
Affiliation:
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor
C.J.C. Phillips
Affiliation:
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor
L. Weiguo
Affiliation:
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor
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Extract

Hay is an increasingly scarce commodity on cattle farms in the UK, due to the transition to silage in recent years. However it is generally preferred by farmers for feeding to calves because it is easy to transport and to feed in small quantities without rapid deterioration. A commonly used alternative is straw, and the voluntary consumption is as high as hay (Kang and Leibholz, 1973), but the DM digestibility is low and high levels of straw in the diet depress empty body weight gain (Thomas and Hinks, 1982). Mixing straw with palatable feeds of high nutrient content, such as molasses, has been shown to increase its feeding value to that of silage for older cattle (Phillips and Leaver, 1985), and could increase the forage intakes of young calves, where palatability is important in determining intake. Maintaining a high forage intake could also reduce the incidence of deleterious oral behaviours, such as licking the pen.

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Raw Materials
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1990 , March 1990 , pp. 155
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1990

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References

Kang, H.S. and Jane, Laibholz. 1973. The roughage requirement of the early-weaned calf. Anim, Prod. 16: 195–203.Google Scholar
Phillips, C.J.C. and Leaver, J.B. 1985. Effect of restriation of silage intake and the provision of an alternative forage on the performance of dairy cows. Grass For. Sci. 40: 419–427.Google Scholar
Thomas, Delana B. and Hinks, C.E. 1982. The effect of changing the physical form of roughage on the performance of the early-weaned calf. Anim. Prod. 35: 375–384 Google Scholar