Investigation of feed values with in vitro technique and chemical properties, particle size of total mixed rations prepared in commercial dairy farms

Authors

• ÖZLEM KARCIOĞLU, Department of Animal Science, Institute of Science, Ankara University, Ankara, TurkiyeFollow
• BETÜL ZEHRA SARIÇİÇEK, Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, TurkiyeFollow

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the chemical and physical properties and feed values of total mixed rations used on dairy cattle farms in Ankara Province. Included in the study were three farms from each of the five districts of Ankara Province (atotal of 15 commercial dairy farms). Total mixed ration (TMR) samples were collected weekly from each farm over a 3-month period in 2025. The chemical composition (crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL)), in vitro digestibility parameters (in vitro gas production (IVGP), methane production (MP), organic matter digestibility (OMD)), metabolizable energy (ME), net energy (NEL), and particle size (PS) distribution (19, 8, 4, and 1.18 mm) of the collected samples were determined. Significant differences were noted among the farms in terms of chemical composition, IVGP, MP, OMD, ME, and NEL values, and PS. It was determined that the TMR formulations of some commercial farms did not consider the animals’ maintenance and production requirements, milk productivity, lactation parity, and stage of lactation, feed variety, nutrient content of feed ingredients, and digestibility. Furthermore, it was determined that TMR PS was disregarded, and forage-to-concentrate ratios were arbitrary on some of the farms. Conversely, it was noted that feed guidelines were generally followed and given greater consideration on large-capacity farms with more than 100 cattle.

Author ORCID Identifier

ÖZLEM KARCIOĞLU: 0009-0006-1744-4726

BETÜL ZEHRA SARIÇİÇEK: 0000-0003-2138-793X

DOI

10.55730/1300-0128.4544

Keywords

Dairy farms, total mixed ration, chemical properties, particle size, in vitro technique, feed value

First Page

247

Last Page

255

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

KARCIOĞLU, Ö, & SARIÇİÇEK, B (2026). Investigation of feed values with in vitro technique and chemical properties, particle size of total mixed rations prepared in commercial dairy farms. Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences 50 (5): 247-255. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0128.4544