Wet and dry feeding of concentrates to dairy cows
Authors: Berry Reginald Arthur 
Published: March 2009

The feeding of concentrates after scalding with, boiling water and given to cows in winter in a sloppy condition at body temperature, increased the yield of milk by about 1 Ib. per head per day over the yield produced when the concentrates were fed in a dry state. The increase diminished with the advance in lactation.

The warm mashes produced a distinct laxative effect.

The animals took to the wet mashes better than to the dry meals.

When the concentrates were fed as dry meals in a ration containing 30 Ibs. roots with fodder and the drinking water taken from a trough in the yard, the coat of the animals got out of condition. With a change to the wet meal or when the drinking water was accessible in the byre, the coat regained its condition again.

An improved water supply did not appear to affect the milk yield.

The percentage of milk fat increased as the milk yield decreased.

Dairy equipment includes a boiler, therefore little, if any, additional capital outlay should be necessary for scalding the meals.

On an average 3·5 Ibs. of water were assimilated to 1 lb. of milk produced in a normal winter ration (see p. 89). The ratio varied with the feeding, the temperature and the period of lactation.

Drinking water and water consumed in the food amounted to about ten gallons daily, and of this between 50 and 60 per cent, was drinking water. The amount increased with an increase in the yield of milk and with a rise in the temperature. The smaller cows also consumed a relatively larger proportion of drinking water. From 25 to 30 per cent, of the total intake of water was contained in the mille.

The feeding of a large weight of roots (112 Ibs.) with meals and fodder caused the animals to scour badly. The health and the condition of the animal were also adversely affected. The milk yield which had shown a tendency to increase was converted into a definite decrease. There was an increase in the percentage of fat, although the total weight produced diminished. The fall in the milk yield was partly though not immediately arrested by a change to a moderate root ration and there was a decided increase in the percentage of, and in the total yield of, fat. Heavy root feeding would therefore appear to depress fat formation, though the supply of nutritive material in the food as judged by the usual method of calculation was not diminished.

The total weight of water consumed for 1 lb. of dry matter in the food amounted to 3·9 lbs. with the heavy and 3·3 lbs. with the moderate root ration. Some of the cows took water daily amounting on an average to between 5 and 6 per cent, of the total intake of water while on the heavy root ration.

Preliminary data relating to temperature and milk secretion were given.

Ayrshire cows were employed in the experiments.

The late Lieutenant H. A. Wyllie, B.Sc. was in charge of the 1913–14 experiment and Mr Hugh M. Young of the 1914–15 experiment. Determinations of the percentage of total solids in the milk were made by Mr Peter Caldwell.

Any additional expenditure incurred in carrying out these experiments was defrayed by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland.