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Evaluation of Dairy Waste Fiber as a Roughage Source for Ruminants

Departments of Animal Science and Dairy Science, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801

ABSTRACT

Waste fiber from dairy cattle, collected with a liquid/solid separator, was evaluated as a roughage source for growing lambs. Fresh dairy waste fiber was either mixed with ground alfalfa hay at 0, 10, or 25% (dry matter) at feeding or ensiled at 0, 25, or 50% (dry matter) with energy feedstuffs — ground corn, corn silage, corn stalklage, or alfalfa haylage. Lambs were fed all diets ad libitum. Increasing dairy waste fiber decreased dry matter intakes and decreased digestibilities of dry matter and nitrogen for all rations except stalklage. All lambs receiving 50:50 mixtures of dairy waste fiber and energy feeds, except those consuming the ground corn diet, were in negative nitrogen balance from decreased dry matter intakes. Hemicellulose of dairy waste fiber generally was digested well by lambs fed all rations with digestibilities ranging from 17.3% for the corn silage diet to 64.7% for the stalklage diet. Cellulose of dairy waste fiber was digested poorly when combined with corn plant feedstuffs but was 27.8 and 31.3% digestible when fed with alfalfa hay and haylage. It appears that dairy waste fiber can be ensiled successfully with various energy feedstuffs and utilized by lambs as 25% of ration dry matter.

¹ Rt. 1, Sarona, WI 54870.