Cottonseeds for dairy cows

Cottonseed is an unprocessed, pure oilseed that is separated from cotton fiber. Cottonseed contains high-fat, high-protein, and cottonseed hull can protect fat and protein. After the cows eat cottonseed, they can directly pass through the first stomach to reach the fourth stomach or small intestine and be directly absorbed and utilized. Adding cottonseeds to dairy cows' diets can increase the feed intake of dairy cows, increase the milk production and milk fat content in milk, thereby increasing the selling price of milk, and at the same time increasing the natural cowness rate and conception rate of dairy cows. Cows are separated by parity, which indirectly increases economic efficiency. In addition, because of the high fat content of the whole cottonseed, the body produces less heat, which can also slow down the cow's heat stress in a hot environment. Compared with measures such as using fat or other rumen fat products, feeding cottonseed supplemented fat to overcome postpartum nutritional deficiencies is the most cost-effective method. Cottonseed is generally used on dairy cows. Currently, there are no fixed methods for adding them. From the test reports, no matter how it is added, it can have a certain effect. According to the experiment, replacement of 30% of soybean meal and 2% of corn in concentrate feeds with 5% cotton seeds showed that the appetite of the cows fed with cottonseeds was strong, their digestive power was enhanced, and milk production was higher than that of cows fed whole cottonseed. %. Replacement of 5% corn with 5% cottonseeds fed cows resulted in an average increase of 0.05 kg per head per day for the cows fed the cottonseed group compared with 0.23 kg for the untreated cottonseeds. Daily replacement of 10% concentrate with 0.9 kg of cottonseeds fed the cows showed that the whole milkseed group increased the fat percentage by 0.12%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group. At the peak lactation period of dairy cows, 1 kg of whole cottonseed was added to the daily diet. The cows fed the whole cottonseed group had 1.73 kg of milk per day increase compared to the non-addition group, and the milk fat percentage increased by 0.15%. The average body weight of the cows in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. An increase of 12 kg; cows in the experimental group had a 30% increase in the natural estrus rate of the cows compared to the control group. However, it must be noted that because cottonseeds contain gossypol, excessive feeding has a toxic effect on dairy cows. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good grasp of the amount of feeding. Generally, one to two kilograms of feed per day is added, and no more than 2.5 kilograms. However, when the total dietary dry matter contains less than 15% of cottonseed products (whole cottonseed or cottonseed meal), it is generally not necessary to consider the toxicity of gossypol or the adverse effects of gossypol on reproduction.