Nutritional Evaluation of Maize Top Hay and Maize Top Silage Based Diets in Lactating Crossbred Cows

The study was conducted to evaluate maize top silage and maize top hay in lactating crossbred cows on dry matter intake, nutrient intake, digestibility, milk yield, milk composition and composition yield. Six lactating crossbred cows (Avg. b.wt; 358; milk yield 9.08 kg/day) were divided into two groups of three cows each in switch over design comprising two periods and allocated one of the following treatments; T1 -maize top silage (MTS) based diet, T2 -maize top hay (MTH) based diet. The experimental cows were offered an average 2 kg of paddy straw, MTS (5kg DM from silage of total DMI), ad libitum of MTH, and CFM was offered to meet the requirement of nutrients (ICAR, 2013), in respective treatment. There was a significant difference in body condition score between the groups. The total dry matter intake in T1 and T2 were 10.43 and 11.27, kg/d respectively. There was no significant difference in DMI but significantly higher intake of MTH than MTS was noticed. No significant difference in the nutrients intake and digestibility of nutrients, MN supply to the intestine and also in nitrogen balance was observed. The corrected lactometer reading (CRL) of the milk of experimental cows were 28.90 and 28.97 and 4 % FCM yield (kg/d) was 9.86 and 9.72 in T1 and T2 groups, respectively and difference was non-significant. There was no significant difference between groups in the component of the milk and composition yield. It was concluded that MTS and MTH can efficiently be used either as a part of diet or as sole roughage source adlibitum in the feeding of lactating dairy animals so that benefit of nutritious part of the maize plant like tops can be better utilized before attaining higher lignification.