Feed formulation and feeding impact on the performance of dairy cows in Central Highland of Ethiopia

摘要

ThestudywasconductedonprivateurbanandperiurbandairyproductionsystemsaroundHoletta,CentralHighlandofEthiopia,withtheobjectivetoassesstheexistingfeedformulationandfeedingofcrossbreddairycowsintermsofnutrientsupplyinrelationtotheperformances.Structuredquestionnaireandlaboratoryanalysisforhome-mixedconcentratewereemployedtogeneratedatafromatotalof60dairyfarms.Theaverageofhome-mixedconcentrateschemicalcompositionforurbanandperiurbanfarm,respectively,were209and224g/kgdrymatter(DM)ofcrudeprotein(CP),3.85and5.28g/kgDMcalcium(Ca)and10.6and9.74g/kgDMofphosphorus(P).Thenutrientssuppliedperkgofmilkthroughhome-mixedconcentratesforurbanandperiurbancrossbreddairycows,respectively,were92.6and93.5gCP,1.70and2.21gCaand4.69and4.04gP.Theaveragedailymilkyield(ADMY)/cow/day,calvinginterval(CI)anddaysopen(DO)forurbanandperiurbanfarms,respectively,were11.1and9.28kg,14.3and15.4months,and152and176days.Significantvariationsintermsofnutrientsupplythroughhome-mixedconcentratebetweentheproductionsubsystemsofthestudysiteexisted.Thus,bigvariationsinnutrientsupplyandimbalancesresultedinanapparentlylowperformanceofdairyanimalsintermsofADMY,CIandDOascomparedtowhatwasexpected.