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The technology of full mixed ration

Victor Sych, Ph.D., director of «KUHN Ukraine»

As we promised in the previous article about choosing fodder, this time we’ll consider how to feed cattle with complete mixed ration (CMR), how to prepare and check the quality and its effect on milk and meat production.

During the evolution of plant and animal life, the best chances to survive had those species that can best adapt to the environmental conditions. Great sedentary herbivores and cows had to daily consume large quantities of plant food, but do it quickly to avoid predators. In this struggle for survival, cows and some other ruminants evolutionarily formed the original gastro-intestinal tract in which quickly-eaten food is digested long and efficiently.

Rumen is a unique piece of evolution

The fundamental physiological difference of cattle from other animals is that their stomach has four departments: rumen, omasum, abomasum and reticulum. Rumen is a unique piece of evolution. Its volume ups to 200 liters. It contains trillions of bacteria and protozoa fauna (ciliates, etc.). Over a period of time (from several hours to several days) they are subjected to fermentation of consumed feed, with which, in fact, the cow is feeding these microorganisms. Through complex processes rumen metabolism, microbial protein synthesis, formation of volatile fatty acids, etc. cows can convert fibrous feeds such as grass, hay and silage (unsuitable for consumption of monogastric animals) not only as a source of energy for existence of itself, but also to a highly nutrient products — meat and milk.

Read more information in the magazine «Milk and Farm» № 6 (13), December 2012

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