6 ways to prepare and store food for livestock during the cold rainy season

(Baonghean.vn) - During the cold rainy season, animal feed is scarce. Learning about methods of storing animal feed at this time is necessary for farmers to avoid economic losses.

1. Store green food by making silage

Silage is the compaction of fermentable foods in an airtight condition for long-term preservation. Raw materials can be corn, pineapple processing by-products (pulp, shoots, etc.). With the green silage formula such as: 100 kg fresh corn stalks + 3 kg urea + 0.5 kg NaCl (can add 2 - 4% molasses), ...

The food to be composted needs to be cut short (5 - 10 cm); the appropriate amount of water in the raw food is 65 - 75%. Only compost clean and quality food; add each layer of food 20 - 30 cm thick, compact it thoroughly, then add another layer; pay attention to compacting it tightly at the corners of the hole.

After about 3 weeks, it can be fed to livestock. Silage can be preserved for a long time and has little loss of nutrients. If the silage is of good quality, it can be fed to livestock up to 5 - 7 kg/100 kg body weight/day.

Silage is mixed with bran, salt... to ensure nutrition.

2. Wilting green food

Wilting is an intermediate method between haymaking and fresh silage. The grass used for wilting has a higher dry matter content than that used for fresh silage. Wilted silage usually ferments less, and the amount of nutrients lost during the silage process is usually less.

How to compost wilted grass: depending on the quantity and current humidity, you can compost it immediately or dry it and then compost it. The humidity of the grass is between 50% - 60%, use nylon bags to put the grass in layers, compact until the bag is full of grass.

Use string to tie the bag tightly, then put the grass bag in the second nylon bag, tie it tightly, then put it somewhere to avoid rats or other insects from destroying it. This is the decisive step, if the bag is open, the grass inside the bag will be damaged.

Withered grass usually ferments less, and the amount of nutrients lost during the composting process is usually less.

3. Stock up on dry food

Dry straw is a good source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals mainly for ruminants in the cold season. This method has the advantage of being very simple, straw is less damaged; Applicable to all scales of livestock farming, especially household farming; Can take advantage of time; Low investment; Cattle can eat a lot without causing digestive disorders.

To obtain good quality dry straw and reduce loss of nutrients, after harvest, it must be dried quickly; dry straw is often preserved by stacking it into piles like straw piles, compacting it and having a rain cover is a common form.

Dry straw is a good source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals mainly for livestock.

4. Stock up on fiber-rich by-products

Sources of high-fiber by-products are abundant and diverse, such as straw, sugarcane tops, cassava tops, etc. The principles for increasing the use of high-fiber by-products include collecting them after harvest for long-term storage; supplementing missing nutrients or processing them to break down complex bonds to increase digestibility and feed intake. Of these, physical and biological treatment methods are rarely applied due to complicated processes and high equipment costs. In chemical treatment, silage and urea treatment are commonly used methods today.

5. Plant additional grasses

The ideal food for ruminants is green grass, but its productivity varies with the season and is often lacking in the cold (dry) season. Currently, some mountainous areas have proactively converted some areas of inefficient food production to grow high-yielding, drought-resistant, and cold-resistant grass varieties such as elephant grass, Guinea grass, VA06, etc. for intensive cultivation to have enough green roughage sources.

It is necessary to base on the needs of each type of livestock and the productivity of the grass to calculate the appropriate planting area. Planting grass helps to ensure a proactive source of green food or reserves to stabilize the necessary food source for livestock, especially in the cold season.

Currently, there are high-yielding, drought-resistant and cold-resistant grass varieties such as elephant grass, Guinea grass, VA06, etc.

6. Reserve concentrated feed

Refined foods such as corn, corn kernels, rice bran, soybean powder, etc. contain important nutrients including protein, starch, sugar, minerals and vitamins.

After being processed, concentrated feed is usually stored in bags, crates, etc. The food storage must be in a high, airy, covered place... When taking out food, it must be prepared first, used first, and processed later, and checked daily; periodically turn the warehouse, disinfect for termites, worms, etc. Check food regularly. If there is moisture, mold, etc., measures must be taken to dry, dry, or discard it.

Nutritionally, roughage cannot be replaced too much (when lacking) by concentrates in livestock diets. Moreover, due to cost, farmers should make the most of by-products to make livestock feed to save costs and protect the environment.

Ngoc Anh

(Synthetic)