Evaluation of Drymatter Intake Estimation Techniques in Dairy Cows
MSc Thesis Report done at Wageningen University, The Netherlands
- 56pages
- 2 heures de lecture
The study investigates how the timing of grazing (morning vs. evening) affects dry matter intake (DMI) in a daily strip grazing system. It highlights the importance of dry matter (DM) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content in grass, which influences nutrient consumption. Three measurement techniques were evaluated: DM disappearance, net energy, and n-alkane. Results showed significant differences in DMI estimates, with the n-alkane technique providing the most accurate results, while the DM disappearance method proved to be less reliable.
