Concentrate feeding strategies for growing and finishing dairy bulls offered grass silage-based diets

Summary

The first aim of this thesis was to produce data for evaluating, developing and recommending biologically and economically efficient energy and protein feeding strategies for growing and finishing dairy bulls offered grass silage-based diets and slaughtered at carcass weights above 300 kg. The second aim was to calculate the energy and protein supplies of the dairy bulls fed different grass silage-cereal-based diets and, based on this, to estimate the possible need to revise the current Finnish energy and protein recommendations for growing dairy bulls. The third aim was to demonstrate the P supply of dairy bulls fed grass silage-cereal-based diets with or without protein supplementation in relation to current feeding recommendations for P.