Regulation of Feed Intake in Dairy Cows. II. Association between Digestible Dry Matter Intake and Cellulose Digestibility in Cows Fed Increasing Levels of Grain Concentrate

Abstract

The relative amount of digestible dry matter eaten decreased as the per cent grain in the ration increased above 50% of the dry weight of the ration. Cellulose digestibility was observed to decrease as the percentage of grain concentrate in the ration was increased between 34 and 72%. The positive deviation in productive energy value of the ration per unit of intake, above that attributable to increased digestible nutrient intake, was almost completely accounted for by adjusting for the decrease in cellulose digestibility. © 1966, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.