Effect of sorghum stover-oat silage on intake and utilization of nutrients in growing heifers

摘要

Roughage-based ration usually causes reduction in dry matter intake due to low protein and high fiber contents, mainly during summer when ambient temperature is above 27deg C (NRC 1981). These conditions are further aggravated when animal diets consist of mainly low quality roughages like straw, stover and other fibrous feed leading to low production performance. To promote higher intake of DM, a practical approach could be the ensiling of stover or fibrous roughages with high moisture forage crop like fodder oat. Hence, an experiment was conducted to see the effect of dry sorghum stover-oat silage on dry matter intake and growth performance in heifers.