Cattle-Feeds and Feeding | Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Cattle Feeds and Feeding

• Balanced Concentrate Mixture or Dairy Mixture
• Concentrates like maize, barley, and oats are often imbalanced for milk production.
• Using a single concentrate can lead to inefficiencies in meeting protein needs.
• Improper ratios of protein and carbohydrates can impact milk production.
• Indian feeding stuffs make it challenging to prepare a well-balanced concentrate mixture.
• Concentrate mixtures are generally deficient in calcium but rich in phosphorus.
• Preparation of Concentrate Mixture
• Typically consists of groundnut cake, wheat bran, barley, and gram.
• Ingredients can be adjusted based on cost and availability.
• Authorities suggest a digestible protein content of around 17% for optimal results.
• Alternative Mixture Preparation
• Another mixture example includes mustard cake, wheat bran, and barley in specific proportions.
• Adjusting ingredient ratios can optimize digestible protein and nutrient content.

Concentrate Mixtures for Nutrient Requirements

• Various concentrate mixtures can be formulated with different contents of DCP, SE, DN, and ME.
• For instance, DCP content per kg may range from 0.13 to 0.12 kg, SE from 0.6 to 0.7 kg, DN from 0.65 to 0.75 kg, and ME from 2.3 to 2.6 Meal.
• When considering the minimum value of 0.13 kg DCP per kg, 4 kg of the concentrate mixture is needed to fulfill the nutrient requirements for 10 kg of milk.
• If a concentrate mixture with 0.2 kg DCP is used, 4 kg of the mixture will provide 0.8 kg of DCP.

Ready-to-Feed Concentrate Mixtures

• Wheat bran, Rape cake, Gram chuni, Cotton seed (decorticated), Groundnut cake
• Bengalgram husk, Wheat bran, Chuni, Guar, Rice bran, Coltonseed cake
• Til oil cake, Gram chuni, Barley, Linseed cake, Gram chuni, Wheat bran
• Oats, Gram, Groundnut cake, Wheat bran

Ingredients and Parts in Mixtures

• Various ingredients are used in different proportions in the concentrate mixtures.
• The contents of digestible crude protein range from 14.5 to 16.2 percent, TDN from 68 to 74 percent, SE from 55.5 to 72.8 percent, and ME from 234 to 266 Meal per 100 kg of mixture.

Mixtures Recommended by ICAR Bulletin No.25

• Cottonseed meal, Wheat bran, Maize
• Rape cake, Cottonseed, Wheat bran, Barley
• Rape cake, Barley, Oats
• Groundnut cake, Gram, Maize, Gram husk
• Sesame cake, Gram, Barley, Rice bran
• Groundnut cake, Cottonseed, Rice bran, Maize, Gram

Supporting Milk Production

• If the digestible crude protein content is increased to around 15 percent, 3.5 kg of the mixture would be sufficient to support 10 kg of milk when fed above maintenance levels.