ENRICHED MOLASSES SUPPLEMENTATION WITH TORULA AND ZEOLITE FOR PREGNANT COWS UNDER GRAZING CONDITIONS

Sixty Holstein dry pregnant cows randomly distributed and considering live weight, number of calving and month of calving were distributed i n three treatments: A)1-5 kg of feed,B) 1.5 kg of enriched molasses an d C) 2.5 kg of enriched molasses with the objective of studying the fe asibility of enriched molasses utilization as supplement. Pre-calving gains obtained when molasses availabilities were lower than 8 kg DM/co w/day were higher (P < 0.001) for treatment C (503 vs 431 and 396 g/da y for treatments C, A and B, respectively). However, when molasses ava ilabilities were higher than 8 kg DM no differences between treatments were found (636,598 and 678 g/day for treatments A, B and C respectiv ely). The weight of the calves at birth was higher (P < 0.001) with av ailabilities of more than 8 kg DM. No differences were found in pre-ca lving health between treatments. The costs of supplementation for the indices studied (cents/kg of gain) showed that enriched molasses utili zation was (P < 0.01) lower than feed utilization (35.81, 42.72 and 55 .95 for treatments B, C and A, respectively). The results suggest the feasibility of cereal savings with enriched molasses supplementation f or pregnant cows under grazing conditions.