Abstract While ensiling is globally the predominant forage preservation method, feeding hay as the sole source of forage has re-emerged in alpine, grassland-based dairying. Studies have shown that many factors could modulate the effects of the forage conservation method on cows’ responses, such as plant species, stage of maturity, cutting and wilting time, and forage cut length. In the present study, forages were obtained from the same fields (grass-dominated swards), mowed at the same time, and treated equally during wilting (roughly for 28 h; 56% DM at harvest). Windrows were harvested alternately using a loading wagon set to a specific cut length (8 cm), either for ensiling in a horizontal silo or barn-drying using an air dehumidifier. Nine months later, 2 feeding groups, with 9 cows each, were offered either one or the other of the conserved forages ad-libitum along with a fixed allocation of concentrate per cow (3.6 kg/d; DM basis) over a period of 34 d. Assignment of cows to groups was based on previous milk yield, body weight, DIM, and parity. Data collection started after a 14-d adaptation period. Data for covariate adjustment of chewing behavior, feed intake, milk performance parameters, and body weight were collected during a period of 9 d, prior to experimental feeding. Results revealed that the cows fed hay tended to increase forage DM intake (18.3 versus 17.8 kg/d; P = 0.07) and ingested a higher amount of water-soluble carbohydrates (+1.2 kg/d; P It can be concluded that grass forages conserved as hay, rather than silage, were more attractive for cows and led to a higher milk energy output. Besides the preferential intake aspects, it can be assumed that the higher content of water-soluble carbohydrates in hay enhanced ruminal fermentation processes, which in turn provided cows with additional amounts of nutrients and energy.

中文翻译：

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比较来自相似亲本草料的青贮饲料和干草对有机奶牛采食行为、采食量和生产性能的影响

摘要 虽然青贮是全球主要的草料保存方法，但饲喂干草作为唯一的草料来源已重新出现在高山草原奶牛场。研究表明，许多因素可以调节牧草保存方法对奶牛反应的影响，例如植物种类、成熟阶段、扦插和萎蔫时间以及牧草截割长度。在本研究中，牧草来自同一块田地（以草为主的草地），同时割草，并在萎蔫期间同等处理（大约 28 小时；收获时 56% DM）。使用设置为特定切割长度（8 厘米）的装载车交替收获草垛，用于在水平筒仓中青贮或使用空气除湿机进行谷仓干燥。九个月后，2 个喂养组，每组 9 头奶牛，在 34 天的时间里，随意提供一种或另一种保存的草料以及每头奶牛固定分配的精料（3.6 公斤/天；以 DM 为基础）。奶牛的分组基于以前的产奶量、体重、DIM 和胎次。在 14 天适应期后开始数据收集。在实验喂养之前的 9 天期间收集了用于对咀嚼行为、采食量、牛奶性能参数和体重进行协变量调整的数据。结果显示，饲喂干草的奶牛倾向于增加草料 DM 摄入量（18.3 对 17.8 kg/d；P = 0.07）并摄入更多的水溶性碳水化合物（+1.2 kg/d；P 可以得出结论，草料保存为干草而不是青贮饲料对奶牛更具吸引力，并导致更高的牛奶能量输出。