Limitations of Various Feeding Systems | Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Green Fodder Feeding System

• Feeding high-quality fodders like berseem, lucerne, maize, sorghum, millets, or oats that are well-chopped is an effective way to produce cost-effective milk. These fodders contain essential nutrients and other unidentified factors that may be lost during processing or storage.
• In the dry season, silage made from good-quality fodders can serve as a viable alternative to green fodder, providing cows with equally nutritious feed for milk production.
• For a 400 kg cow yielding 8 liters of milk per day, a mixture of leguminous and non-leguminous fodders on a half-and-half dry basis, along with one kilogram of concentrate ration, can meet the cow's nutritional needs economically.
• However, there are limitations to this feeding system:
  (a) Small-scale farmers may find it challenging to grow green leguminous and non-leguminous feed year-round due to limited land holdings and a preference for cash crops.
  (b) The quality of fodder crops can vary significantly depending on their growth stage, making continuous supply of leguminous crops difficult to maintain.
  (c) High-producing animals (yielding above 15 liters) may struggle to consume enough feed to meet their requirements, leading to a negative balance and potential health issues.
  (d) Mineral and vitamin balance can become crucial, and sudden changes in feed type, especially from green grass to other systems, can affect milk production, particularly during crucial periods like freshening or pregnancy.

Green Grass or Grass Hay Feeding System

• In areas like forest regions or grasslands, various grasses grow naturally during the monsoon season, which can be fed to cows either as green fodder or as hay. However, these grasses may not be highly nutritious, necessitating the supplementation of a concentrate mixture.
• A significant limitation of this system is its costliness, as additional concentrate feed increases the overall cost of milk production.

Straw and Stover-Based Rations

• This feeding system is commonly used in urban dairy enterprises, where compounded feeds are prevalent. However, there is an emphasis on concentrates over quality forage, with cows often fed straw more for bulk than nutritional value.
• For a 400 kg cow yielding 8 liters of milk, around 3.5 kg of concentrate mixture is required to meet maintenance and production needs. This reliance on compounded feeds can be expensive, posing a significant limitation.
• Compounded feeds serve as crucial sources of protein and energy in urban settings, despite their costs. Heavy milkers may not meet their nutrient requirements solely on concentrate feeding with straw, leading to the mobilization of energy from body reserves during peak lactation.