FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE 



241 



Dry matter 24.15 pounds. 



Digestible protein 2.15 pounds. 



Digestible carbohydrates and fat 14.5 pounds. 



Nutritive ratio 1 : C.9 



Feeding Table for Dairy Cows.— While not formulated as a 

 standard, Professor Humphrey and the author, in 1911, published 

 a table showing at a glance the quantities of dry matter and di- 

 gestible components required daily by dairy cows of 800 to 1500 

 pounds body weight, and producing from less than one-half pound 

 to over two pounds butter fat per day. 18 This table is based chiefly 

 on the results obtained in investigations with the dairy herd of 

 the Wisconsin station for a period of nine years. 



The figures for 1000-pound cows are shown in the table : 



Feed Requirements for 1000-pound Dairy Cows Producing 0.5 to 2.0 Pounds 

 Butter Fat Per Day, in Pounds 



Dairy cows (maintenance) 



Production of butter fat per day 



Less than 0.5 pound 



0.5 to 0.75 pound 



0.75 to 1.0 pound 



1.0 to 1.25 pounds 



1.25 to 1.5 pounds 



1.5 to 1.75 pounds 



1.75 to 2.0 pounds 



Total 



digestible 



matter 



7.9 



10.6 

 12.3 



14.1 

 15.8 

 17.6 

 19.3 

 21.1 



The composition of a certain combination of feeds may be 

 readily compared with the requirements of cows of different body 

 weight and productive capacities, as shown in this table, and 

 rations thus formulated which will contain approximately the 

 amounts of dry matter and digestible protein required for a cer- 

 tain production of butter fat. The corresponding amounts of 

 digestible carbohydrates and fat may be readily found by subtract- 

 ing the amount of digestible protein from that of total digestible 

 matter, and the nutritive ratio by dividing this difference by the 

 amount of digestible protein. 



Example: A 1000-pound cow producing 1.3 pounds butter fat per day 

 was fed as follows : 10 pounds alfalfa hay, 25 pounds corn silage, 10 pounds 

 of a grain mixture composed of corn, oats, and wheat middlings, in the 

 proportion of 2: 2: 1. This ration contains the amounts of total digestible 

 matter and energy values as given below, on the supposition that the feeds 

 are of average composition and digestibility. 



"Wisconsin Bulletin 200; see also Woll, Handbook, p. 196. 

 16 



