animal production - CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University ...

m. The dried meal of this acquatic plant contains 24.78% crude protein, 15.12% crude fibres, 3.19% calcium, 2.35%
phosphorus, 52.46% neutral digestible fibres(NDF) and a good assortment of micro nutrients. It has been found a good
replacement for cereal byproducts like rice bran, wheat bran in the concentrate feeds of calves and dairy cows. It has also
been found suitable @ 10% in the diets of grower chicks as a replacement of rice bran and groundnut cake.
(v) Dried poultry droppings: This material contains uric acid and some undigested feed proteins and feed dropouts.
This is availabale from the poultry farms where cage rearing management is followed. The droppings contain CP
23.6%, CF 16.50% silica 8.3%, ether-extract 2.5%, calcium 3.86% and phosphorus 1.42% on dry matter basis. The dried
material can be mixed upto 20% in concentrate mixture of dairy animals by replacing wheat bran and mustard cake.
Conservation of fodders
In Himachal Pradesh, most of the green fodder is available during the monsoon season. This green fodder is
usually in the form of local grasses and cultivated maize, bajra, either alone or in combination with cowpea or soybean.
During the winter season, the green and nutritious forages like berseem or leucerne are usually in short supply and the
animals are maintained either on poor quality hays or straws (by-products of wheat, paddy & maize crops) and some fodder
tree foliages that are also limited in supply. Under such feeding regimens, the dairy cattle production is adversely affected
due to the non-availability of balanced fodders. The cultivable area under fodder crops in the Pradesh is highly limited
(0.75%) and its diversion to fodder crops is also untenable because the first priority is cereals for food production for human
population. Therefore, it becomes essential to augmenting the nutritive value of grasses by the available scientific methods.
There are two scientific ways to conserve the surplus herbage to meet the balanced needs of animals.
Hay making
i. Hay making
ii. Silage making
Hay is any forage crop cut before it is actually dead ripe and suitably dried for storage. It is more nutritious and
palatable than straw, because the entire crop is cut at the proper vegetative stage of growth (strictly before maturity) and
scientifically desiccated. High quality hay is made from fine-stemmed grasses and legumes, harvested at the right stage of
growth and dried in such a way as not to lose any of the nutrients. It is leafy, pliabale, green in colour and free from mould,
weeds, dust and has a pleasant characteristic smell and aroma.
The preservation and storage of surplus herbage has become an important activity for the balanced feeding of animals
and the purpose in making hay is to produce a dried product of high quality. Quality is a cominbation of chemical,
physical and biological properties that influence the intake, digestion and utilization of the forages that further determine the
growth and productivity of the animals consuming them.
To produce a high quality hay, at least two conditions must be observed viz. good forage must be harvested at a
proper stage and it must be dried with minimum loss of nutrients.
Quality of the herbage to be made into hay : The chemical composition and nutritive value of standing herbage at any
one time is influenced by genetic and environmental factors that are highly interrelated. Genetic factors determine the
species of plants, the strain within a species, the type of growth and the response to environmental factors. Some
environmental factors include climate, weather and soil management. Because of the extreme variability of plants and of the
wide range of environmental conditions, even in a limited geographical area, the chemical composition (nutritive value) of
any plant at the time of cutting is unique and perhaps are not exactly alike for all types of plants.
How to feed low grade roughages economically : Good quality hays are better relished by the animals due to their better
palatability, and little residues are left. But the weather conditions in this state are not only highly variable, but the artificial
drying facilities are also highly expensive and thus the quality of hays is not usually good. The grasses normally available
for hay making are also poor in quality and heavily lignified. Lot of straws and stovers, that are the residues of the crops like
wheat, barley, paddy, maize, sorghum and bajra are abundantly available for feeding to the animals during the lean periods
and nutritionally these are very poor. The low-grade roughages i.e. poor quality hays, paddy straw, maize, sorghum and
bajra stalks can be utilized by ruminants more efficiently if they are suitably processed and the protein content is augmented
by adding cheaper non-protein-nitrogenous sources and soluble carbohydrates. The following method is recommended for
improving the palatability, intake and utilization of low-grade roughages by the ruminants:
i. The grass hays, stovers, stalks and straws should be suitably chaffed to the size of 2.0 to 2.5 cm chops.
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