Chewing Activity and Digestive Responses of Cows Fed Alfalfa Forages

Effect of yeast culture supplementation of alfalfa silage or alfalfa hay fed to lactating dairy cows

Synthesis of microbial protein in ruminally cannulated cows fed alfalfa silage, alfalfa hay, or corn silage.

Six ruminally cannulated cows were used in an experiment with a 3 x 3 Latin square design. Three all forage diets-alfalfa silage, alfalfa hay, or corn silage plus 2.2% urea (DM basis)-were fed for ad libitum intake four times daily. The microbial protein marker 15NH3 and the liquid marker Cr-EDTA were infused continuously into the rumen for 72 and 48 h, respectively; the solid marker, Yb-labele...

Performance of lactating dairy cows fed either alfalfa silage or alfalfa hay as the sole forage.

Alfalfa was harvested from alternate windrows as 40% DM silage or hay in small rectangular bales and fed in two 12-wk 4 x 4 Latin square trials, each with 20 multiparous lactating cows (4 with ruminal cannulas). Diets contained (DM basis) 69 (trial 1) or 66% (trial 2) alfalfa, 26 to 33% high moisture corn, 1.3% minerals and vitamins, and about 1.6 Mcal of NEL/kg of DM. In trial 1, second-cuttin...

Effects of Combination of Rice Straw with Alfalfa Pellet on Milk Productivity and Chewing Activity in Lactating Dairy Cows

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of diets containing coarse-texture rice straw and small particle size alfalfa pellets as a part of total mixed ration (TMR) on milk productivity and chewing activity in lactating dairy cows. Sixteen multiparous Holstein dairy cows (670±21 kg body weight) in mid-lactation (194.1±13.6 days in milk) were randomly assigned to TMR containing 50% o...

Effects of Fat Supplementation and Chop Length on Milk Composition and Ruminal Fermentation of Cows Fed Diets Containing Alfalfa Silage

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fat supplementation for enhancing milk conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in early lactation without affecting ruminal fermentation. 24 Holstein dairy cows were assigned to a completely randomized design employing a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. Factors were particle size (15 and 25 mm) and two different sources of alfalfa supplemented with and wit...