What are the common roughages for feeding ruminants? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Coarse fodder refers to the loose, large, light, hard, low nutritional value and low digestibility fodder in cattle feed.

If you want to make money raising cattle, cost control is very important! The feed cost of cattle raising also needs to be adjusted and controlled, which should be combined with refined feed and coarse feed. On the one hand, the cost of roughage is low, and on the other hand, it is from the perspective of scientific breeding. The scientific diet of cattle can not be separated from coarse fodder, just like people who eat grains and miscellaneous grains are stronger and stronger, and perennial meat eaters are prone to health diseases.

Although the nutritive value of roughage is low, it is not useless. In the eyes of cattle breeders, it also has charming charm.

1) Reduce breeding costs.

2) It contains cellulose, which is an important raw material to form milk fat.

3) Enhance rumen excitement and maintain normal digestive function.

4) Adjust the acidity and alkalinity in the rumen, and maintain the decomposition of rumen microorganisms.

5) Produce volatile fatty acids, participate in the synthesis of milk fat, and improve the milk fat rate.

Since there are so many bright spots in roughage, how should we use them? Before using it, we need to have a deep understanding of the term roughage. Coarse fodder can be divided into leguminous straw, gramineous straw, chaff, herbage, weeds, etc.

The detailed division is as follows:

1) Leguminous straw. Among legume straw, peanut straw has the best feeding value, followed by pea straw and soybean straw. Alfalfa is widely used as fodder in recent years.

2) Grass straw. Among gramineous straw, corn straw has the best feeding value, followed by barley straw, sorghum straw, buckwheat straw, cereal straw, rice straw and wheat straw.

3) Batch shell class Batch shell class. Coarse fodder is a by-product of crop seed hulling, such as bean pod, cottonseed shell, peanut shell, rice husk, sorghum shell, corn cob (shaft), green bran (rice husk). Among shell type coarse fodder, the feeding value of bean pod is the best, followed by peanut shell, rice husk, sorghum shell, cotton seed shell, corn cob (shaft), green bran (rice husk).

4) Forage. Artificial cultivation and wild forage, such as Shoukai grass, Pennisetum, clover, elephant grass, etc.

5) Wild grass, wild grass, etc.

Today, I will tell you the advantages and disadvantages of several common roughages, and I hope it will be helpful to your breeding.

01 Alfalfa hay

Good palatability and high nutritional value. Known as the "king of pasture", alfalfa has not only high yield, but also good quality of grass. The alfalfa hay with green leaves is rich in nutrition and is loved by livestock. It contains about 13% protein and 8% minerals. Alfalfa contains a lot of crude protein, rich carbohydrate and B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and other micronutrients, which are palatable and can promote intestinal peristalsis, prevent constipation and peptic ulcer. The effect of adding alfalfa meal to the diets of breeding animals and pregnant female animals is good.

However, alfalfa is a leguminous forage, which is easy to cause gas when used in large quantities. It needs to be used with a certain amount of gramineous forage, such as ryegrass, green hay, corn straw, etc.

02 Ryegrass

Ryegrass is one of the grasses with the highest yield of digestible substances. Ryegrass has high nutritional value and is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. The crude protein content of hay is more than 25%, and the leaves are tender and palatable. It can be directly fed to cattle and sheep.

03 Peanut seedling

The crude protein content of peanut seedling is about 8% - 12%, which can be widely used in cattle and sheep feed. When using, be careful not to contain a lot of mulch film, and do not mildew.

04 Dry corn straw

The outer skin is smooth and hard, and the digestibility of crude fiber is relatively high, about 65%. The nutritional value of the upper part of the same corn plant is higher than that of the lower part, and the nutritional value of the leaves is higher than that of the stems. Be careful of mildew during use.

05 Straw

Straw is a coarse material with high cellulose content and low nutritional value, and the digestibility of cellulose is relatively low. When feeding cattle and sheep with straw, do not feed it alone. It should be fed with other forage, and the proportion of rice straw in coarse fodder should be controlled below 30%.

06 Rice hull powder

The rice husk itself has no nutritional value. The digestible protein is very little (0.2%). The texture is rough and hard, and the surface has bristles. It is very difficult to digest and excrete in the intestine. If in the stomach long-term stagnation, will lead to dry shutter disease. Therefore, it is not recommended to feed cattle and sheep with rice husks.

07 Cutting corn with ears

Corn silage with ears, that is, corn is harvested in the late milk ripening stage, and the whole plant of stems, leaves and ears of corn is cut up for silage, which can maximize the preservation of protein, carbohydrate and vitamins. It has high nutritional value and good palatability, and is a high-quality feed for cattle.

08 Bean curd dregs

Good palatability and relatively high nutritional value. It contains three kinds of anti nutritional factors: trypsin inhibitor, thyrotropin and coagulant. Among them, trypsin inhibitor can prevent trypsin from digesting and absorbing bean protein in animals, causing diarrhea and affecting growth. Therefore, the following points should be adhered to in the process of feeding: direct raw feeding is not allowed; No single feeding is allowed; Do not feed rotten residue; Do not overfeed.

The collected soybean dregs are often easy to deteriorate, breeding miscellaneous bacteria or even harmful bacteria, and deteriorate and taste. Therefore, it is recommended that the soybean dregs be fermented or dried as raw materials for refined feed.

09 Wet distiller's grains

Distiller's grains are the direct leftovers in the brewing process, which contain a certain proportion of grain, and can save concentrate when feeding cattle. Distiller's grains have good palatability and relatively high nutritional value, but they are too acidic to be the only coarse fodder in the diet. They should be mixed with other coarse fodders. Generally, distiller's grains account for 30-50% of the coarse fodder.

When distiller's grains are used for coarse materials, sodium bicarbonate shall be added when preparing concentrate, and the amount of sodium bicarbonate shall be 2-2.5%. Fresh distillers' grains are preferred, and mouldy and deteriorated distillers' grains cannot be used.

Distiller's grains are also easy to ferment. Even in winter, if they are placed in a sunny place or a shed, they are prone to fever and reduce their nutritional value. In severe cases, they will become mouldy and deteriorate. In order to ensure a balanced supply, large quantities can be purchased in the low price and easy to buy season. Long term storage is required and it can be stored in a cellar.

The maximum amount shall not exceed 3% of the body weight. The weight of sheep fed with distiller's grains shall not exceed 2%.

10 Silage

It has fragrant fragrance, soft and juicy, good palatability, moist and loose surface, and high digestibility. Effectively maintain the fresh state of green feed and reduce the loss of nutrients. Moreover, the silage is easy to make, and the storage can compensate for the lack of green fodder in winter and spring, ensuring the stability of the annual supply of green fodder for cattle and sheep.

However, the amount of silage used by pregnant cattle and sheep should be limited, especially for pregnant sheep. Excessive use of silage will cause miscarriage of ewes.

When the coarse material is silage, sodium bicarbonate should be added to the concentrate, and the amount of sodium bicarbonate added is 2-2.5%.