MILK YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF PREPARTUM BUNAJI COWS SUPPLEMENTED WITH AGROINDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS IN SMALLHOLDER DAIRY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Twenty cows gestating Bunaji cows, balanced for their weight and parity, were submitted to four treatments: T1, range grazing, (RG); T2, RG + 100% corn bran (CB); T3, RG + 60% CB + 40% palm kernel cake (PKC), and T4, RG + 60% CB + 40% dried brewer’s grains (DBG) in an on-farm experiment in a complete randomized design. Mean milk offtake (kg/day) at 3 months, 6 months and weaning were lower (P 0.05) among the treatments. Total milk offtake and peak milk production significantly varied among the treatments; the rank order  was: T1 < T2 < T3 < T4 (all P < 0.05). Milk yield was largely an inverse linear function of month of lactation (r = -0.98, P < 0.001). Results indicate that strategic supplementary feeding of pregnant cows in an on-farm situation will improve the  lactation performance of  cows, and quality of concentrates used as supplement should be prioritized

Keywords

• Lactational performance, milk components, strategic supplementation, agroindustrial by-products, cows