Predicting feed intake and feed efficiency in lactating dairy cows using digesta marker techniques

Factors Affecting Feed Efficiency of Dairy Cows

Feed efficiency (FE) is a concept that has gained popularity in recent years in the dairy industry. Monitoring FE is becoming a more common benchmark for monitoring the profitability of milk production relative to dry matter (DM) intake. In today’s markets, feeds and commodities are becoming more costly, which is driving the requirement for more efficient utilization to maintain profitability. ...

Genetic Regulation of Feed Efficiency in Lactating Holstein Cows

The effects of corn silage particles size and fat supplement on feed intake, digestibility, ruminal function, chewing activity, and performance in mid-lactating Holstein dairy cows

An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of corn silage particle size and fat supplements on performance, solid passage rate through the digestive tract, and chewing behavior in dairy cows. The forages were coarse or fine corn silage with geometric means of 8.8±2.7 and 5.6±2.8 mm, and alfalfa with geometrics means of 7.0±3.3 mm, and fat supplements were neutral fat (palm) and soy-o...

Effect of somatotropin on thyroid hormones and cytokines in lactating dairy cows during ad libitum and restricted feed intake.

Twelve Holsteins in first lactation were used to investigate the relationship between energy balance and effects of bovine somatotropin (bST) on thyroid hormone metabolism and cytokine concentrations in serum. Six cows were fed for ad libitum intake and six cows were feed restricted to induce negative energy balance during two treatment periods of 6 d. During treatment periods, cows were admini...

Residual Feed Intake and Feed Efficiency: Differences and Implications

In the beef production system, 70-75% of the total dietary energy is used for maintenance (Ferrell and Jenkins 1984; NRC 1996; Montaldo-Bermudez et al. 1990). Thus, while only 5% of the total life cycle dietary energy consumption is used for protein deposition in beef cattle, swine and poultry are more efficient at 14 and 22%, respectively. The relatively large size, slow maturity and slow repr...