Straw as animal feed
1. The cultivation of rice or other cereals such as wheat, maize
or sorghum often produces large quantities of residues in the form of straw and
stalks. These residues are poor feed for cattle. buffaloes. sheer and goats and
are often wasted. They may serve as maintenance fodder, but animals that are fed
straw alone will probably lose weight for the following reasons:
- It is difficult for the animals to eat very much, as they have
problems digesting the straw.
- Straw has a poor nutritional value.
2. However, straw can be a suitable feed if it is treated with a
water solution of urea. The treatment enables the animals to improve their
digestion of the straw, which permits them to eat more of it.
3. It has been demonstrated that even if as little as one third
of the straw is treated, the animals will be stimulated to eat more of the
untreated straw.
4. The differences between untreated and treated straw are as
follows:
|
Untreated straw |
Treated straw |
|
- Poor-quality feed |
- Reasonable-quality feed |
|
- Unpalatable, so animals eat little |
- Palatable so animals eat more |
|
- Animals lose weight |
- Animals gain weight |
|
- Animals produce more milk |
|
