Impact of feeding balanced rations on milk production, methane emission, metabolites and feed conversion efficiency in lactating cows

A field study on early lactating crossbred cows (n=35) was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding balanced rations on milk production, enteric methane emission, metabolites and feed conversion efficiency (FCE). In comparison to requirements, the dietary intake of protein and energy were higher by 25.0 and 12.7% whereas, calcium and phosphorus intake were lower by 30.0 and 27.0%, respectively. Balanced feeding improved daily 4% FCM yield by 0.7 kg/cow (P<0.05) and intestinal flow of microbial nitrogen (N) by 37.0% (P<0.01), whereas, reduced (P<0.01) feeding cost by 17.0% and enteric methane emission (g/d/cow and g/kg milk yield) by 14.6 and 18.1%, respectively. Level of IgG, IgA, IgM and uric acid content increased significantly, whereas BUN level reduced (P<0.01) from 18.2 to 15.0 mg/dl. FCE improved (P<0.01) from 0.8 to 1.0 and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis also improved (P<0.01) by 63.6% owing to feeding of balanced rations indicating better performance of cows. Present study indicates that feeding nutritionally balanced rations improved milk production, feed conversion efficiency and reduced methane emission in lactating cows under field conditions.