Urea-molasses liquid mixture

Nutritious concentrates account for a large part of feed costs for ruminants. Depending on the cost of molasses, this expenditure can be reduced by replacing concentrates with a nutritive ureamolasses liquid mixture.

Materials

(if green fodder is not available)

Method of preparation

1 Take 2 litres of drinking water in a pot.

2 Dissolve 2 kg of urea thoroughly in the water by stirring it with a wooden stirrer.

3 Put 100 litres of sugarcane molasses in a trough of galvanized iron sheet or some other metal.

4 Mix the urea solution slowly in the molasses, stirring it continuously.

5 Make a mixture of 2 kg of powdered mineral mixture and 1 kg of powdered common salt.

6 Mix the mineral mixture and salt in the urea-molasses mixture.

7 Mix in 20 g of vitamin A supplement.

8 Heat the mixture to boiling point. Continue stirring during heating to avoid charring and to facilitate uniform mixture

9 Allow it to cool.

Urea-Molasses mixture

Schedule of feeding

Introduce the urea-molasses mixture gradually over 2-3 weeks.

During the initial three days, give 500 g of the urea-molasses mixture daily; reduce the quantity of concentrate mixture by 25 percent.

During the next four days, offer 1-2 kg of the urea-molasses mixture; cut the concentrate to half the original amount, and reduce roughage by 25 percent.

In the second week, give 2-3 kg of the urea-molasses mixture daily and withdraw the concentrate mixture completely (for adult non-working animals as a maintenance diet). Roughage can also be reduced by 75 percent of the original amount.

From the third week onwards, you can increase the ureamolasses mixture to as much as 1 kg per 100 kg of animal body weight.

What animals can be fed ureamolasses liquid mixture?

Cattle and buffaloes over six months of age, and sheep and goats over four months of ace can be fed urea-molasses liquid mixture. Avoid feeding it to young calves, as their stomachs are still developing.

How much to feed

Growing calves (older than 6 months)

Green fodder, mixed straw, and 300 g of concentrate mixture.

In addition, 1-2 kg of the urea-molasses mixture for free-choice consumption.

For 6-month-old calf

Dry buffaloes and cows

Feed dry buffaloes and cows urea-molasses (5-6 kg) and dry fodder (5-6 kg) daily.

In addition, give green fodder at the rate of 1 to 2 kg or vitamin
A supplement in the diet.

Milch animals (producing about 10 litres of milk)

Feed green fodder (25-30 kg and straw mixed with 1-2 kg of concentrate mixture.

In addition, provide urea-molasses mixture for free-choice consumption.

For milch cow

Working bullocks

Feed dry fodder (5-6 kg) and urea-molasses mixture (5-6 kg) daily.

In addition, feed green fodder at the rate of 1-5 kg and concentrate mixture at the rate of 1-3 kg, depending on whether the work is light, medium, or heavy.

When not to feed ureamolasses liquid diet

Discontinue the urea-molasses mixture if the animal salivates excessively or appears sick, or is unusually slow to move.

Contributor: Dr. M. Y. Khan