In order to improve the overall health and productivity of your dairy farm, you may be considering adding protein supplements to your cow’s diet. Listed below are several examples of protein supplements for cows: RDP, Oilseed Meals, Hays, Urea, and Mocktail. Read on to find out more about each supplement. Added protein will boost your cow’s immune system and improve her milk yield. You can find more information on these products on our website.
Contents
RDP
For a balanced diet, supplementation of cows with RDP or TDN is critical. The optimal RDP-to-TDN ratio for cows is about 8 to 13%, but supplements with higher RDP-to-TDN ratios will increase the utilization of low-quality forages. Unlike people, cows do not have a dietary requirement for crude protein. In addition to being beneficial for the health of the herd, RDP can also reduce milk production.
Cattle producers can calculate the amount of protein their cows need based on dry matter intake, body weight, and milk yield. The requirements for RDP increase as these variables increase. When comparing protein requirements, RDP and TDN are the best options for cattle. Both are readily digestible by cows, which means that RDP protein supplements for cows can provide adequate levels of protein for the animal. Moreover, cows consuming RDP supplements will have more energy.
Oilseed Meals
Feeding high-protein hays as protein supplements can help beef cattle gain the protein they need. Most high-quality hays contain between fifteen and twenty percent crude protein (CP). Nevertheless, it is important to choose the supplements that will address specific nutrient deficiencies in the herd. The choice of supplement depends on the body condition of the cows. Thinner cows are usually deficient in dietary energy while fleshier ones may require additional protein.
Most oilseed meals have low biological value compared to animal protein feeds. Most have low levels of cystine and methionine. Lysine content is variable. Soybean meal is the only oilseed meal with a high lysine content. However, oilseed meals vary greatly in their energy value. They are also low in calcium and phosphorus. Those nutrients are insufficient for monogastric animals. Furthermore, oilseed meals lack B vitamins, carotene, and vitamin E.
Hays
Hays protein supplements for cows can be a beneficial way to increase a cow’s daily intake of protein. They are liquid supplements made from molasses and designed for self-feeding by cows. While cows rely on forage to meet their protein needs, a supplement like this is a great alternative. It can be used in place of grass hay or other forage that lacks protein.
Whether or not you choose to supplement your cow’s diet with a protein supplement is up to you. Many studies have shown that a high-quality protein supplement can improve digestibility of forages that lack protein. A protein supplement can be administered several times per day. This is especially helpful if a cow grazes on dry grass during the winter. The most common form of protein supplements for cows is pellets.
Urea
For cattle, urea can be a valuable source of protein. In the Merck Veterinary Manual, the toxicity threshold is set at 0.3 to 0.5 g/kg body weight. Therefore, a 50:35 protein supplement contains 55 grams of urea per kilogram of body weight. For a 1,000-pound feedlot steer, it will take the animal 2.5 to 4.0 pounds of urea a day to reach the threshold for adverse effects. The level of urea that crosses the rumen wall is high enough to kill the animal.
While urea is an effective source of protein for cattle, it is unpalatable to humans. It contains ammonia, which makes it a poor source of energy for humans. Hence, cattle should not be fed urea if they are receiving poor quality forage. For this reason, it is better not to feed urea supplements to young lambs or calves under 400 pounds. In addition, the urea content in cattle feed should be monitored regularly to ensure that the microbes in the rumen are adapted to it.
