Effects of alternative protein sources on rumen microbes and productivity of dairy cows.docVIP

Maejo Int. J. Sci. Technol. 2011, 5(01), 13-23 Maejo International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN 1905-7873 Available online at www.mijst.mju.ac.th Full Paper Effects of alternative protein sources on rumen microbes and productivity of dairy cows Metha Wanapat , Kissada Boonnop , Chamnanwit Promkot and Anusorn Cherdthong 1,* 1 2 1 1 Tropical Feed Resources Research and Development Center (TROFREC), Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand 2 Faculty of Agro-Industrial Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Kalasin Campus, Kalasin 46000, Thailand * Corresponding author, e-mail: metha@kku.ac.th Received: 17 July 2010 / Accepted: 10 January 2011 / Published: 12 January 2011 Abstract: This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of various protein sources on digestibility, rumen fermentation, milk yield and milk composition in dairy cows. Four Holstein Friesian native crossbred cows in early lactating were randomly assigned according to a 4x4 Latin square design. The dietary treatments containing different protein sources in concentrate diets were soybean meal (SBM), cassava hay (CH), Leucaena leucocephala (LL) and yeast-fermented cassava chips (YEFECAP), with ad libitum intake of urea-treated rice straw. Digestibility of DM, OM, NDF and ADF was not different among treatments (P0.05) while CP digestibility was highest (P0.05) in CH and YEFECAP supplemented groups. Ruminal NH -N and BUN concentrations varied among protein sources and were 3 highest in SBM and LL fed groups (P0.05). Ruminal total volatile fatty acid (VFA) and propionic acid were found highest in cows receiving CH and YEFECAP (P0.05). Ruminal fun