In dairy production, feeding is one of the very important management practices to consider. It is a major challenge to most farmers. It constitutes about 80% of the cost of rearing the animal. Feeding is done at the rate of 3% body weight. The ration should contain all essential nutrients at the right amounts and proportion:
Energy
This should constitute 80% of the daily ration. Sources include pasture grasses and fodder crops like maize, sorghum that can be us to make silage or fed fresh etc. One can also use energy concentrates like maize germ, bran
- Protein – sunflower, groundnuts, cotton, soya beans, fish meal, bone and meat meal and other fodder crops like callindra, leucaena, mulberry, sesbania, disodium etc etc.
- Vitamins – Green feed material
- Fat – Fat in nuts like groundnuts, simsim and cotton. Avoid feeding excess fat
- Minerals – Licks should provide calcium, copper, cobalt, magnesium etc.
- Water – Water should be clean and adequate for the animals to drink.