Protein Feeds For Ruminants

Ruminants do not need such high-quality protein feeds. The micro-organisms in the rumen will degrade the feed protein and built it into their own bodies. Therefore, if you feed high-quality protein feeds to ruminants you must protect these protein sources from the micro-organisms in the rumen, allowing them to pass undigested into the abomasums where they will be digested by enzymes followed by absorption of these amino acids in the small intestine. Usually, the ration of a ruminant will be balanced with protein supplements that are cheaper or with inexpensive non-protein supplements such as urea.

Source: Animal Nutrition, Concepts and Applications, PA Boyazoglu, Revised Edition

The Supplementation of Amino Acids for Dairy Cows

In modern ruminant rations for high producing dairy cows, the nutritionist includes amino acids in the ration. This is because the high producing dairy cow is not able to ingest enough of certain amino acids via her normal ration because the requirements for her products are very high and her body is physically not large enough to eat more. Because all the cows do not all produce such high yields of milk, it would be a waste to also supplement the lower producers with expensive supplementary amino acids. This creates a feed management problem in that different cows need to be fed different feeds. One way to manage this is to break the whole herd into smaller groups of cows with similar production yields. In this way the farmer can then feed the different groups of cows feeds according to their production.

Another modern method of feeding individual cows is an automated system where the individual cow's ration is mixed by a computer just before the milking process starts. The cow’s individual body mass and production are measured twice a day and the computer determines the mixture required. This feed is mixed as soon as the cow enters the milking stall, and is delivered to the feed bin in the milking stall while the cow is being milked. Although such systems are highly effective, they are also very costly.