The use of traditional corn silage in the diets of lactating cows during the winter-stall period leads not only to the animal productivity decrease, but also to the milk quality. An increase in these indicators can be achieved by improving the feed quality, in particular by using non-traditional crops for silage, amaranth being one of them. A comparative assessment of the effect of amaranth and corn silages on animal health, blood biochemical parameters, milk productivity and quality during the wintering period was carried out. Scientific and economic experience was conducted on the basis of peasant farm by I.I. Korovnikov, in Khokholsky district of the Voronezh region. Two variants of silage were put: from the green mass of amaranth to the phase of milk-wax ripeness of seeds and corn silo. Two groups of dairy cows of Holstein-Friesian breed with an average productivity of about 4200 kg of milk, selected by the principle of analogues, were used in the experiment. Body temperature, heart rate and number of respiratory movements per minute, scar reduction were within normal limits for cows of both groups. Moreover, a reliable difference in clinical and physiological parameters between the experimental and control groups was not found out both at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The inclusion of high-protein amaranth silage in the diet of lactating cows leads to normalization of the liver and, as a result, normalization of all metabolic processes. Amaranth silage had a positive effect on the quality of milk. So the milk obtained from the cows of the experimental group had a significant advantage in comparison with the control one in terms of fat (by 0.46%) and protein (by 0.18%). Feeding amaranth silage to cows showed that it is well eaten by animals, and its use increases the productivity of cows by 11.9% compared with the contro group. The results obtained allow us to recommend amaranth silage as the main bulk feed in the winter-stall period when preparing balanced diets for lactating cows.

amaranth silage, corn silage, milk quality indicators

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