Research Information System
Animal Production Science, vol.59, no.3, pp.499-505, 2018 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of silage type on dry matter (DM) intake, nutrient digestibility, energy utilisation and methane (CH 4 ) emission. Six late lactating Holstein dairy cows were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design study with three treatments (grass silage (GS), maize silage (MS) and whole-crop wheat silage (WCWS)) and three periods (3 weeks/period). All animals were offered forage ad libitum and 5.55 kg/day of a concentrate supplement, which contained (DM basis) 66.0% rapeseed meal, 28.3% soyabean meal and 5.7% a mineral/vitamin supplement. During each period, animals were subject to digestibility, CH 4 and heat production measurements during the final 6 days using calorimeter chambers. The results demonstrated that total DM intake for MS and WCWS diets were higher (P < 0.001) than for the GS diet. Faecal energy and heat production loss for the GS diet were lower (P < 0.01) than for MS and WCWS diets. In contrast, cows fed the GS diet had higher (P < 0.05) urine energy loss compared with MS and WCWS diets. In comparison with the GS and MS diets, WCWS diet produced a lower CH 4 loss per kg DM and organic matter intake (P < 0.01), and CH 4 energy output as a proportion of gross energy and metabolisable energy intake (P < 0.05). The present study demonstrates that choice of forage types affects energy utilisation and CH 4 emission in dairy cows.