Background: In Ethiopia, locally available feed resources are commendable in livestock production to make the sector sustainable and productive.
Objectives: This on-farm evaluation was conducted to evaluate the effect of urea-molasses-treated highland bamboo (Yushania alpina) leaves (UMTHBL) in lactating crossbred dairy cows' nutrient utilization, body performance, milk yield and quality and economic performance.
Methods: On-farm feeding trial was conducted using 12 lactating cows with initial body weight (328.08 ± 0.98 kg), initial milk yield (3.14 ± 0.78 L) of uniform parity (2) and stage of lactation (early) using a Randomized Complete Block Design. Three dietary treatments, namely, 6 h grazing (control) + concentrate (T1), control + UMTHBL ad lib (T2), control + untreated BL adlib (T3) with three replications were used. Analysis of variance was employed for the feeding trial data analysis.
Results: The UMTHBL increased more dry matter and nutrients intake than untreated. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was recorded between UMTHBL feeding (T2) and T1 and T3 in terms of increased milk yield. The highest (6.26 L) and the lowest (3.27 L) mean milk yield per day were recorded for cows fed UMTHBL and the control group, respectively. Urea-molasses treatment improved the crude protein (CP) and reduced fibres content than untreated. Treatment effects were not-significant (p > 0.05) for milk compositions. Similar to milk yield, dairy cows in T2 consumed more CP which is also reflected in higher body weight and economic benefit.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that employing treatment technology for highland bamboo leaves could support the crossbred dairy cows' production in smallholder farmers.
Keywords: Guagusa Shikudad district; bamboo leaf; milk composition; milk production; urea-molasses treatment.
© 2023 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.