Milk production with Criollo crossbreed animals, supplemented with fresh semi-integral diet under restricted grazing conditions

Resumen

During two years, the fractionation, one or four times a day, of the supplementation with fresh semi-integral diet was evaluated in dairy cattle with a restricted grazing management. A total of 54 Criollo crossbreed cows were randomLy distributed in two treatments: I) supply of the fresh semi-integral diet once a day and II) supply of the diet four times a day. The results showed that when the semi-integral diet was offered four times a day, the total dry matter intake increased (P <0.05) in 8.1 and 9.3 %, in relation to the supply once a day in the rainy and dry season, respectively. This increase in the total dry matter intake is directly related to the increase (P <0.05) of the semi-integral diet, which does not differ in its intake in the rainy season, but this increased in15.4 % in the dry season, 7.12 vs. 8.22 kg DM diet cow-1 day-1. The milk production increased (P <0.01) in 4.5 and 8.6 %, when supplying the diet four times a day in the rainy and dry season, respectively
(7.76 vs. 8.11 and 6.07 vs. 6.59 kg cow-1 day-1 , for one and four times the supply in the rainy and dry season, respectively). Similarly, the milk quality improved in the studied components. The study shows that the fractionation of the supplementation with fresh semi-integral diet increases the milk productivity and improves the milk quality, without showing effect on the body
condition of the animals.
Key words: fractionation, intake, milk, quality, body condition