Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange
Abstract
Six mixes of feed were manufactured and analyzed to determine how sequence of ingredient addition into a feed mixer influences mixing characteristics when modified distillers grains (mDG) was used as a feed ingredient. Five mixes were manufactured using a 3-bar rotor mixer and one mix was manufactured using a staggered-rotor mixer. There were three diet types evaluated: 1) high-forage receiving diet; 2) high-grain finishing diet with ground grass hay (GH) as the roughage source; and 3) high-grain finishing diet with silage as the roughage source. Five samples were collected from each mix and were analyzed for particle size and nutrient composition to determine within load coefficient of variation (CV). Based on these data mDG should be added before GH. The within load CV for particle size, CP, ADF, and sulfur were lower for a diet containing silage and mixed in a staggered-rotor mixer compared with a diet containing GH mixed in a 3-bar rotor mixer
