Effect of Sprouted and Extruded Grain in Composition of Fodder Mixtures on Digestibility of Dairy Cows Diet Nutrients

Abstract

The experiment was carried out according to the following scheme. In the first group (control), all wheat, barley and corn grains were fed in flattened form, in the second, third and fourth groups 50% of the wheat, barley and corn grain mass (half the daily supply) was prepared in various ways. In the second group, they were sprouted, in the third, they were extruded, and in the fourth, they were comprehensively prepared by sprouting and then extruding. The differences in the specified nutrients between the first and second groups were unreliable and were at the level of 0.92.2 relative percent. The extrusion of wheat, barley, and corn grains and their inclusion into the fodder mixture of animals of the third group contributed to an even greater increase in the digestibility of substances in comparison with the first and second groups. The differences amounted to 1.9-3.4% and showed reliable differences in dry matter and nitrogen-free extract substances. In the fourth group of cows fed with a mixture of comprehensively processed grain components, the digestibility of all substances showed a noticeable increase; the difference with control was reliable and amounted to 2.7-5.4 relative percent. Keywords—methods of preparing fodder for feeding, sprouting, extrusion, digestibility of diet nutrients, dairy cows, productivity