Content
Currently, dry feed and mixtures occupy a significant place in the diet of domestic animals, partially or completely replacing traditional plant foods. The use of such concentrates has quite great advantages. The composition of feed for cattle includes all the substances necessary for the development of animals, and it is much more convenient to work with such feed.
What is feed for cattle
Compound feed is a mixture of feed of plant and animal origin, which includes the entire complex of nutrients necessary for the development of animals in a certain concentration. The use of this type of feed makes the diet as balanced as possible.
Combined feeds are divided according to their purpose into several groups, depending on the following factors:
- type of cattle;
- age;
- directions of cultivation (meat, dairy);
- herd productivity.
Pros and cons of feed mixtures for cattle
The use of mixed feed for use in cattle diets has a number of positive aspects. These include:
- Ease of operation, storage and transportation.
- Cost-effective compared to traditional feeds.
- Balance, the ability to include the necessary elements.
- Environmental friendliness, safety in terms of compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards.
- Possibility to give food any form (pellets, powder, briquettes).
Feeding cattle with compound feed provides better results compared to conventional feed; herd productivity increases by an average of 10-15%. Thanks to balanced nutrition, strong livestock grow and healthy offspring with good immunity are born. The disadvantages of using feed for cattle are the following:
- Higher price compared to conventional feed.
- It is necessary to accustom animals to such a diet from a young age, since adult livestock may not accept such food after the traditional one.
- The complexity of self-production, the need to use special equipment.
- The need for constant monitoring of feed dosages.
Types of feed for cattle
Quite a lot of feed for cattle is produced. They are divided according to their purpose into the following types:
- For calves.
- For cows.
- For stud bulls.
Combined feeds differ in the form of release.For ease of use, feed for cattle is produced in the form of:
- homogeneous granular mass;
- pressed granules;
- briquettes
Bulk feed is not pressed or heat-treated, so it has the shortest shelf life. Such food mixtures are prepared immediately before use, adding and grinding all the necessary components.
During the preparation process, granulated feed for cattle and its components are exposed to temperature and pressure, due to which the individual nutrients contained in it decompose into simpler and more easily digestible ones. At the same time, pathogenic microflora and pathogens are also destroyed. Granular feed can be stored for a long time. Mixed feed in briquettes differs from granulated feed only in larger forms of release. Before use, the briquettes are crushed to the desired consistency and then fed to animals.
Feed mixtures also differ in their composition. Complete ration feeds (CR) include a full range of nutrients, vitamins and mineral additives, so when using them, other feeds are not used. Concentrated feed (K) is used as a supplement to the diet of roughage and succulent feed and is a product of grain processing. Premixes (P) and protein-vitamin supplements (PVS) are used to supplement the diet with the necessary set of microelements and are added to feed in small quantities.
Composition of feed for cattle
Depending on which groups of cattle the feed is intended for, its composition also changes. This is due to the fact that at different stages of development animals require different amounts of certain nutrients.The main component of all mixed feeds is grain and its processed products. In addition, the recipe for granulated cattle feed may include:
- meal and cakes of various oilseeds;
- roughage (straw, hay);
- legumes;
- VTM (vitamin-herbal flour);
- pine flour;
- meat and bone or fish meal;
- vitamin and mineral premixes.
Composition of feed for calves
Young animals are the most vulnerable part of the cattle population. Therefore, special attention must be paid to feeding this group of animals. Nutrition should ensure rapid weight gain, as well as strengthen the animals’ immunity, so that in the future a well-developed healthy herd can be formed. The composition of the combined feed for calves must include the following components:
- protein;
- cellulose;
- amino acids;
- vitamins;
- antioxidants;
- enzymes.
The table below shows several options for the percentage composition of starter, a combined dry feed for calves up to 6 months old.
Component | Content, % | ||
K 60-32-89 | K 61-1-89 | K 62-2-89 | |
Wheat (fodder) | 27 | — |
|
Wheat bran | 24 | — |
|
Corn | — | 34 |
|
Barley | 30 | 37 |
|
Extruded barley | — |
| 58 |
Oats | 15 | — |
|
Table salt | 1 | — | 1 |
Soybean meal | — | 17 |
|
Sunflower meal |
|
| 25 |
Eprin | — | 6 |
|
Molasses | — | 4 |
|
Herbal flour |
|
| 4 |
Feed fat |
|
| 3 |
Calcium phosphate | 2 | — |
|
Feed yeast |
|
| 7 |
Chalk | — | 1 | 1 |
Premix | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Composition of feed for dairy cattle
Compound feeds for dairy herds do not include components that increase or stimulate muscle gain. The main components of such mixtures are grains: barley (predominant), wheat, oats.
The table below shows the percentage composition of the components of one of the feed mixtures for cows (milk herd) for the period of keeping in the stall - K 60-31-89
Component | Content, % |
Wheat (fodder) | 26 |
Wheat bran | 18 |
Barley | 27 |
Oats | 15 |
Table salt | 1 |
Sunflower meal | 3 |
Molasses | 7 |
Calcium phosphate | 2 |
Premix | 1 |
Composition of feed for beef cattle
For beef cattle breeding, it is recommended to use dry feed with food additives that stimulate rapid muscle mass gain. An example of such a composition (compound feed for fattening bulls K 65-13-89) is given in the table below.
Component | Content, % |
Corn | 5 |
Wheat bran | 15 |
Barley | 37 |
Sunflower husk granules | 20 |
Table salt | 1 |
Sunflower cake | 20 |
Chalk | 1 |
Premix | 1 |
How to make feed for cattle with your own hands
In our country, there is GOST 9268-90 for compound feed for cattle prepared industrially. Large enterprises carry out several levels of control, ranging from the quality of supplied raw materials to the output of finished products. The composition of components in feed produced according to standards is strictly dosed, since it is standardized by state standards. At home, preparing compound feed for cattle that complies with GOST is much more difficult.
What is needed to prepare feed for cattle
The issue of self-preparing combined feed is relevant for large and medium-sized farms, since it can significantly reduce the cost of the finished product. The process of preparing dry food in an industrial environment consists of several stages:
- preparation of raw materials;
- grinding;
- dosing;
- mixing components;
- packaging and storage.
It will be difficult to do the entire amount of work at home.To provide the livestock with the required volume of feed, mechanization tools are needed - an electric crusher, a mixer, a granulator, and a filling machine. For small private farms, starting your own feed mill is a luxury; the costs of creating it may never pay off. If you have the appropriate technical conditions, you can make small batches of feed for cattle, but the quality of the final product will be far from ideal.
What are the proportions of feed when producing for cattle?
Often, farmers create cattle feeding rations on their own, based on their experience and the availability of certain components for preparing food mixtures on hand. In this case, you need to focus on the overall nutritional value, without exceeding the dosage of any ingredient beyond the recommended dosage. There is quite a lot of information on this topic, as well as recipes for preparing feed for cattle.
Video about making dry food yourself from available ingredients at home:
Feed recipes for cattle
The composition of some types of industrial feed has already been described above. However, when making food mixtures yourself, not all ingredients may be available, so farmers often have to replace the missing components with others. Here are the most popular recipes for combined feed for cattle, which are easiest to prepare yourself.
For dairy cows:
- Sunflower meal or cake – 25%.
- Ground corn – 15%;
- Ground barley – 20%;
- Wheat bran – 15%;
- Herbal flour – 24%;
- Salt, chalk - 0.5% each.
For stud bulls, you can use a slightly different composition:
- Corn 16%;
- Meal 20%;
- Cereal bran 15%;
- Barley – 26%;
- Oats – 17%;
- Meat and bone meal – 5%;
- Salt – 1%.
To quickly fatten beef cattle, the following components can be included in the feed:
- Rolled barley – 40%;
- Sunflower cake – 30%;
- Ground corn – 5%;
- Extruded corn – 7%;
- Wheat bran – 15%;
- Salt, chalk, vitamin premix – 1% each;
You can also add vitamin and mineral supplements and premixes to the composition. Since such ingredients are sold in finished form, before adding them, it is necessary to study the appropriateness of their use, as well as the recommended dosages.
Feed consumption rate for cattle
Daily norms for consumption of cattle feed depend on the method of keeping, time of year, direction of animal husbandry, age of animals and their condition. To provide them with a balanced diet, you cannot use only dry concentrated food. Their share in the total diet can range from 25 to 50% of the feed units needed by animals.
Calves begin to get accustomed to dry feed from an early age. Initially, the mixtures are diluted in milk, gradually transferring growing animals to dry feeding. By 4 months, the daily rate of feeding mixed feed to calves can increase to 2 kg. An adult cow can receive from 2 to 4 kg of feed per meal. In summer, the amount of concentrates decreases, and in winter and early spring it increases.
Conclusion
Even the most balanced composition of feed for cattle cannot guarantee that such food can completely replace the entire diet of animals. The richer and more varied the herd's nutrition, the better.The diet must include roughage and succulent feed, root vegetables, and other plant components. Therefore, combined dry food is only part of the diet, its important component, which greatly simplifies the life of a modern livestock breeder.
