Ad Libitum versus Restricted Concentrate Feeding of Lactating Dairy Cows

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Abstract
Three Holsteins and 3 Guernseys (experimentals) were fed hay and concentrate ad libitum. Their performance was compared with a similar group of cows (controls) which were fed hay ad libitum and 1 kg of concentrate/3.5 kg of FCM (fat corrected milk) daily. The trial began 17-22 daye post-partum and continued for 16 wk. The controls consumed 9.2 kg of hay and 5.7 kg of concentrate daily. The experiments onsumed 4.4 kg of hay and 15.7 kg of concentrate. The daily milk production of the experiments was 24.8 kg and it was significantly greater (P< .01) than the 19.5 kg of the controls. The percentage of milk fat of the experimentals was 3.27, which was significantly lower (P< .01) than the 4.07 of the controls. The differences between the groups for FCM production, percentage of SNF (solids-not-fat), and percentage of protein were not statistically significant. The experiments produced significantly more kg of SNF and protein than the controls. The mean daily gain was 0.52 kg for the experiments and 0.06 for the controls.