Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Hayvan Bilimi ve Ürünleri Dergisi, cilt.4, sa.2, ss.136-152, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)
This study was conducted to determine the common animal feeding practices as well as types of feeds used in the cattle enterprises located in the central county of Erzincan province. For this purpose, data were obtained by conducting a face to face survey with 401 dairy cattle breeders. Percentages of the enterprises which moved their animals to pasture in March, April, May and June were respectively 2.6%, 56.7%, 39.3% and 1.3%. Cattle breeders tended generally to buy concentrate feed from feed mills, while majority of them (74.8%) grew forage crops in their own enterprises. The most commonly used roughage types were wheat-barley straw (95.8%), alfalfa hay (78.1%) and meadow hay (52.1%), while crushed barley (92.0%), wheat bran (78.6%), dairy cattle feed (68.3%) and cattle fattening feed (50.6%) were prominent as concentrate feeds. It was also determined that feeds in the majority of the enterprises (97.5%) were distributed to animals by hand. Data regarding weaning age of calves indicated that 0.6% of the enterprises weaned their calves at one month of age, 10.9% at two months of age, 79.7% at three-four months of ages, 5.4% at five-six months of ages and 3.4% at seven months of age or older. In conclusion, the awareness of the breeders about updated cattle feeding practices and especially for silage corn planting as well as usage of maize silage for nutrition of animals must be increased and the incentives and financial supports in this respect has to be raised for profitable cattle husbandry in central county.