THE EFFECTS OF COTTONSEED CAKE WITH OR WITHOUT MOLASSES ON FEED-UTILIZATION, PURINE EXCRETION, AND MILK-PRODUCTION OF BORAN (BOS-INDICUS) COWS FED A MIXTURE OF WHEAT AND OAT STRAW
Po. Osuji et al., THE EFFECTS OF COTTONSEED CAKE WITH OR WITHOUT MOLASSES ON FEED-UTILIZATION, PURINE EXCRETION, AND MILK-PRODUCTION OF BORAN (BOS-INDICUS) COWS FED A MIXTURE OF WHEAT AND OAT STRAW, Tropical agriculture, 72(1), 1995, pp. 63-69
The effects of 1.35, 1.80, or 2.25 kg dry matter (DM) of cottonseed ca
ke, with (1.85 kg DM) or without molasses, on straw intake, diet diges
tibility, live-weight change, excretion of purine derivatives (PD), an
d milk production of Boran (Bos indicus) cows were studied. There were
no significant (P > 0.05) interactions. Straw intake was 0.47 kg DM l
ower (P < 0.001) showing a substitution effect of 254 g kg(-1) with mo
lasses. Straw intake tended also to decrease from 5.18 to 4.94 kg DM (
P < 0.15) with a daily substitution of 107 g kg(-1) with increasing le
vels of cottonseed cake. Molasses increased DM and organic matter (OM;
P < 0.01) but decreased crude protein (CP; P < 0.001) and neutral-det
ergent fibre (NDF; P < 0.01) digestibilities. Molasses (P < 0.05) and
increasing levels of cottonseed cake (P < 0.01) increased daily milk y
ield from 3.06 to 3.26 and from 2.96 to 3.32 kg, respectively. Molasse
s increased live-weight by 300 g day(-1) (P < 0.05). Increasing levels
of cottonseed cake caused a live-weight change of 69 g to 467 g day(-
1) (P < 0.05). A supply of microbial-N increased (P < 0.001) in molass
es diets but microbial-N production kg(-1) digestible OM was not affec
ted by treatments (P > 0.05).