DOI: 10.32900/2312-8402-2025-135-161-170
Keywords: dairy cattle, feeding, ration, low-protein feed drug, milk production, profitability
This study experimentally proved the effectiveness of using a low-protein feed preparation in feeding dairy cows. The research was conducted for 53 days in the experimental farm «Gontarivka» of the Livestock Farming Institute of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine on dairy cows of the Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed. A control and experimental group of cows was formed by the method of pair wise analogues, with 22 animals in each group by age, milk production, number and lactation period. All animals were clinically healthy, and no animals dropped out of the study during the experiment. The housing conditions, feeding and watering regimes, and microclimate parameters during the study were identical between the groups of experimental animals. The working hypothesis of the research was to find a way to increase the milk production of cows using a low-protein feed preparation. The feed preparation was produced by processing animal feed – extruded meat and bone meal with the addition of grain filler, it is characterized by a high content of amino acids. The feed preparation was fed in the diet of cows of the experimental group by replacing 2 kg of sunflower meal and compared with the performance of cows of the control group. It was found that cows that consumed a diet containing a low-protein feed preparation produced 1713 kg of milk over 53 days of the experiment, or 1.48 kg of milk per cow per day. The milk of the experimental cows also had a 0.05% higher fat content and 0.11% higher protein content. In terms of basic fat content (3.4%), the milk yield of the experimental group cows was 3.06 kg higher. The profit from the production of 1 kg of milk when using a low-protein feed preparation in the cow’s diet was 0.48 UAH higher, and the level of profitability was 4.9% higher.
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