The feed intake and performance of dairy cows fed on cut grass

Abstract

Summary In the years 1959, 1960 and 1961 sections of the College herd of pedigree Guernsey cows were fed indoors on cut grass. The grass, cut twice each day, was fed in excess of appetite. The weight of grass dry matter consumed varied significantly in each year with the percentage of dry matter in the grass. In one year only did the dry-matter consumption vary significantly with the percentage of crude fibre in the grass. The weight of drinking water consumed varied significantly with the percentage of dry matter in the grass. The total water intake, i.e. drinking water plus uncombined water in the grass, remained almost constant at approximately 14 gal per cow per day. The use of a concentrate supplement in 1960 and 1961 produced small increases in yield which were not statistically significant. If, however, the differences recorded were real, then they would have been economic in one year and not in the other. The intake of starch equivalent, calculated from the chemical analyses of the grass, could not be reconciled with the performance of the cows.