Some Attempts to Improve the Nutritive Value of Urea for Dairy Cows

Abstract

Isobutylidene diurea (IBDU) was tested against urea with regard to the ammonia release in the rumen, the amount and composition of the nitrogen fraction reaching the intestine, the nitrogen and energy balances and the performance of lactating cows. Maize silage was the basal feed in all experiments. The ammonia concentration in the rumen liquor was measured in two dry cows fitted with a permanent rumen cannula. The ammonia release was clearly restrained when IBDU was substituted for urea, and the peak values were of the same order as those found with soybean meal. Two dry cows fitted with a re-entrant cannula at 10 cm from the pylorus were fed with maize silage supplemented with increasing amounts of either urea or IBDU. The duodenal flow levelled off with urea, but it continued to rise with IBDU even when high amounts were added to the silage. However, a large fraction of this increase was in the form of ammonia, corresponding to 60% of the dietary nitrogen supplied by IBDU. The amount of non-ammonia nitrogen was also higher with IBDU. The nitrogen balance of lactating cows was not noticeably affected when IBDU instead of urea was added to the maize silage. In the same manner, the digestibility of the rations and their metabolizable energy supply were not significantly modified, and the milk productions were quite similar with the two N compounds, apart from the tendency to lower milk fat and milk protein productions.

Calorimetry, physicochemical characteristics and nitrogen release from extruded urea

“…However, comparisons between urea and starea (extruded urea) on nitrogen release in lambs 8 , 9 or in lactating cows 10 have presented different results, not allowing a conclusion on the subject. It is known that in finishing steers a lower concentration of ruminal ammonia is observed in the treatment with starea when compared to a mixture of urea plus coarse sorghum after seven days of feeding 11 .…”