I-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 1, 1987
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to
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By
£ Glenn A. Shirk
Extension
VI Dairy
VI Agent
Keep Them Chewing
How much a cow chews her cud
can be a good indication of how
healthy her digestive system is and
how well she feels. Cows are very
dependent upon a functional
rumen for good health and produc
tion. When the rumen is fouled up,
the cow is fouled up!
For the rumen to function prop
erly, it is important to meet the
minimal daily fiber needs of cows.
The most economical way to meet
a cow’s fiber needs is to feed
adequate levels of good quality,
home-grown forages. This should
be a primary concern of all dairy
men. Grain intake is a secondary
concern.
Many of us have experienced
situations where rumen activity
slows down. Cows’ appetites and
dry matter intake decline. Fat tests
may drop considerably. Eventual
ly, cows may lose flesh to the point
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where production and reprodutive
efficiency suffer. Cows become
acidotic, stomach ulcers develop,
and this may lead to other secon
dary infections. Cows become
foundered. The incidence of dis
placed abomasums (twisted sto
machs) may increase. Young
calves become paunchy.
Many of these problems can be
related to feeding inadequate
amounts of fiber or an excessive
amount of grain.
Adequate amounts of effective
fiber are essential for good rumen
health. It stimulates cud chewing
and rumen activity. Contractions
of the rumen muscles help to mix
the contents of the rumen and
improve the passage of materials
through the rumen. It also helps
prevent bloating by increasing
belching activity. And, the con
tractions also improve muscle
tone. That, combined with good
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rumen fill, probably reduces the
incidence of twisted stomachs.
The fiber also stimulates cud
chewing activity. When a cow
chews her cud she’s doing much
more than just grinding and mixing
her feed; she’s producing gallons
of saliva which contain a lot of
very effective buffers. Those buf
fers are essential for maintaining a
rumen pH (acidity level) that is
optimum for maximum microbial
activity, efficient digestion and
good nutrient absorption and nor
mal appetites and fat tests.
Quantity, Quality
and Effectiveness
As you can begin to appreciate,
fiber intake is very essential for
ruminant animals. In addition to
having enough fiber in the ration, it
must also be digestible and in a
form that will stimulate cud chew
ing and rumen activity. In other
words both the quantity and the
quality of the fiber must be
considered.
As mentioned earlier, one of the
most economical sources of fiber
is good quality, home-grown for
ages. As we feed cows, we need to
have a good general knowledge of
how much forage and fiber a cow
is consuming and the quality of
that forage and fiber.
Cows’ forage requirements are
somewhat proportional to their
size. As a general guideline, cows
should consume a minimum of
about 1.8 pounds of good quality
forage dry matter daily per 100
pounds of body weight. For a 1000
pound cow, dial amounts to 18
pounds per day; for a 1500 pound
cow, it is 27 pounds. Of course,
this forage dry matter can be pro-
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vided by hay, silage or pasture, and
the wetter the forage the more
you’ll have to feed. This assumes
the forage is of good quality and
that its fiber is digestible and in an
effective form.
Let’s look now at the effect of
forage quality on cow’s fiber
needs. Old, mature hay is high in
fiber content, but the fiber it con
tains is less digestible. Therefore,
it is less effective in meeting the
cows’ needs. Weather damaged
hay may also contain more undi
gestible fiber because the more
digestible portions have been
leached out or they have under
gone microbial digestion.
In an effort to compensate for
poorer quality forage, we may be
tempted to feed more of it. That
presents other problems. The more
forage we feed the less room there
is for grain; nutrient intake
declines and production drops off.
The other problem is, reduced
digestibility of the forage reduces
the digestiblity of the entire ration.
The less digestible forage also pas
ses more slowly through the diges
tive tract, which reduces dry mat
ter intake.
For the reasons stated above,
there is very little room for poor
quality forages in rations fed to
today’s high producing dairy
herds. With good judgement, some
poorer quality forages can be util
ized by lower producing cows, dry
cows and older heifers. However,
until their rumen becomes quite
active, young heifers and calves
• should receive better quality for
ages. Poor quality, less digestible
forages can create paunchy condi
tions in calves; the undigestible
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forages simply linger too long in
their guts. And, unless these poorer
quality forages are supplemented
with additional levels of grain and
concentrates, these calves could be
deficient in many essential
nutrients.
At the other end of the quality
spectrum is that real high quality
alfalfa cut in the early bud stage of
maturity. Protein is high and fiber
is relatively low. In fact, the qual
ity and properties of this hay actu
ally approaches that of a concen
trate. Because of its lower fiber
content, it might not meet the
cows’ forage needs. It might be
necessary to feed more of it, or
adjust the fiber content in the
remainder of the ration.
The texture of the forage must
also be considered as we try to
satisfy cows’ minimum daily fiber
needs. The shorter we cut the for
age, or the wetter we make it, the
less effective the fiber will be. The
levels may be adequate on paper
but the fiber that is present is not
‘completely effective: more might
be needed in the ration.
It is important to chop forages
short enough for a good pack. A
good guide for most silages would
be to set the blades for about a %
inch cut. Drier materials might
have to be cut slightly shorter for
proper packing. Cutting com sil
age fine enough to crack most of
the grains is too fine in many cases;
you will reduce the effectiveness
of the fiber considerably, and
you’ll probably lose more feed
efficiency than you gain.
Forages First,
Grain Second
Forages first, grain second is a
(Turn to Page C 5)
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