A comparison of hay and strawmix as forages for preweaned calves

Abstract

Hay is an increasingly scarce commodity on cattle farms in the UK, due to the transition to silage in recent years. However it is generally preferred by farmers for feeding to calves because it is easy to transport and to feed in small quantities without rapid deterioration. A commonly used alternative is straw, and the voluntary consumption is as high as hay (Kang and Leibholz, 1973), but the DM digestibility is low and high levels of straw in the diet depress empty body weight gain (Thomas and Hinks, 1982). Mixing straw with palatable feeds of high nutrient content, such as molasses, has been shown to increase its feeding value to that of silage for older cattle (Phillips and Leaver, 1985), and could increase the forage intakes of young calves, where palatability is important in determining intake. Maintaining a high forage intake could also reduce the incidence of deleterious oral behaviours, such as licking the pen.