How can the errors in the nutrition of dairy cattle be recognized?
Sonderegger, H.
Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 114(10): 497-504
1972
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-7281 PMID: 4673042 Document Number: 56215
The causes of herd sterility attributable to nutrition are numerous and vary from one herd to another. They can usually be recognised only when requirement of the cows is compared with intake. Calculating the energy and protein requirements presents no difficulties. As regards the minerals, it is unnecessary to supply more than the normal requirements, but it is important that there should be no extreme difference in the proportions of individual elements. The amount eaten by cows and the nutritional content of pasture are very variable. Therefore evaluating nutrition in problem herds is possible only by recording the intake and analysing the feed. As it seldom happens that only dry feed is given, and as its content may vary greatly with regard to the basal and the total feed, it is essential if nutrition is to be evaluated to analyse all the main basal feedingstuffs and to have detailed information on the concentrates.