Sampling for analysis of milk constituents (fat and protein) is a routine procedure on commercial dairy farms. It is assumed that for this procedure a representative sample of whole milk is taken, either as a fractionated sample from the milk meter or as a thoroughly mixed milk sample taken after the milk has been agitated with air in the recording jar. The use of on-line sensors for milk analysis will provide real-time data on which nutritional management decisions can be made according to milk composition. However, there is no recommendation as to the optimum sampling time in an on-line system to obtain a representative sample during the milking process. Ideally sampling should be carried out as early as possible for the analysis to be completed before the milking system is needed for the next cow. It is important to establish within milking variation of milk constituents for an on-line sensing system, especially since fat increases significantly throughout milking. The aims of this study were to determine the within milking variation of urea, acetone, fat and protein and to specify the most appropriate time of sampling within milking to obtain representative concentrations of these constituents and analytes.

This study compared the effect of feeding AmyPlus, a moist feed, as opposed to rolled wheat on the yield and composition of milk from dairy cows consuming grass silage based total mixed ration (TMR). Seventy-two Holstein-Friesian cows were distributed into AmyPlus (Treatment) and Wheat (Control) groups and loose housed on straw in an open shed. Each kg Wheat based concentrate contained 345g rolled wheat, 230g rapeseed meal, 115g sugarbeet pulp, 115g Molaferm 20, 115g soybean meal, 56g barley straw and 24g vitamin-minerals. In contrast, each kg AmyPlus based concentrate contained 501g AmyPlus (480g DM /kg), 105g rapeseed meal, 126g sugarbeet pulp, 126g Molaferm 20, 84g soybean meal, 41g barley straw and 17g vitamin-minerals. Here, AmyPlus was loaded directly into the mixer wagon to prepare fresh AmyPlus based TMR with a silage to concentrate ratio of 68:32. Each TMR was fed once daily to the corresponding group of cows also receiving 2kg of Distillers’ grains per cow in the parlour during milking. Daily milk yield and composition was recorded from November 1999 to February 2000. The overall daily Dry matter intake (DMI) of each TMR per cow remained uniform (20.19 vs 20.15 kg for Treatment and Control group respectively) across both groups. Daily milk yield and total cell counts per cow did not vary significantly (P>0.05) between groups during various months. While, milk fat and protein contents were greater in Treatment than Control group during each month, the differences were significant (P<0.05) only during November and December for fat and in January for protein. On average, the Treatment group tended to show a non-significant increase (P>0.05) in daily milk yield per cow by 0.144 kg than the Control group. The fat (46.2 vs 43.7) and protein (34.5 vs 33.5) contents in g /kg milk were also increased significantly (P<0.001) in Treatment compared with Control group. Total cell counts did not vary significantly (P>0.05) and remained within the acceptable limits. The cows consuming AmyPlus maintained their health as indicated by their intake, production, cell counts and general appearance. It would appear that AmyPlus can replace rolled wheat in TMR. However, it may be necessary to evaluate the storage, economic and environmental implications of using such moist co-products in silage based dairy rations.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding some herbal feed additives (HF A) [thyme (T, Thymus Vulgaris L.), dianthus (D, Delphinum Ajaews), and fennel (F, Foeniculum Vulgare L.)] at a level of 10g/kg to Japanese quail diets on performance and some metabolic functions. Adding HFA to the control diet improved (P<0.05) body gain, feed intake and feed conversion (feed/gain) efficiency. The birds fed dietary F additive exhibited the best (P<0.05) values of these parameters during the entire period (0 to 6 weeks of age), compared with other dietary treatments. There was an improvement (P<0.05) in total protein, globulin, and albumin for birds fed dietary T or F at six weeks of age. Birds fed on dietary F recorded the lowest (P<0.05) value of these components compared with other dietary treatments.