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Bagasse Complete Rations Employing Urea or Urea Plus Fishmeal as Supplemental Nitrogen Sources

Animal Husbandry Department, University of Puerto Rico, Lajas 00667

ABSTRACT

Eighteen Brown Swiss and Holstein cows were in a replicated experiment involving preliminary, adjustment, and comparison periods of 35, 7 and 105 days to compare three complete rations containing 25% bagasse and 75% concentrates. The nitrogen supplement contained urea and tuna-fish meal in the following respective proportions: Ration U2, and (15.9% crude protein); Ration U3, and (15.9% crude protein); and Ration U4, 1 and 0 (16.8% crude protein). The rations were group-fed at nearly ad libitum intake.

Daily feed consumptions per head during the comparison averaged 22.39, 19.98 and 17.10 kg for Rations U2, U3 and U4. The corresponding urea consumptions were 336, 450 and 513 g. Daily fat corrected milk productions were 21.97, 19.65 and 18.07 kg, Ration U2 being superior to U4 (P < .05). Milk solids-not-fat and protein contents decreased as urea increased. Higher urea was also associated with slightly higher ratios of ration crude protein to milk protein (4.44 to 4.74), slightly lower ratios of ration dry matter to fat-corrected milk (0.895 to 0.828), and less daily gain in shrunk liveweight (0.40 to 0.22kg).

The economic estimates, in the same order, were ration cost per 100 kg, 7.08, 6.88 and $6.64; feed costs per 100 kg milk, 7.49, 7.10 and $6.28; and daily income over feed costs per cow, 2.49, 2.33 and $2.34.