Feed is a source of energy and matter for the growth and life of living things. The most valuable substance in animal feed is protein. The quality feed contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Feed ingredients can be consumed and digested by livestock. Along with time and developments in animal husbandry, many types of food can be selected, such as lucerne hay. If you understand the need for livestock for protein, is lucerne hay high in protein?
Is Lucerne Hay High in Protein? Explaining the Protein Inside This Hay
In general, plants are the source of feed for livestock. A large part of the energy absorbed by plants is stored in the form of chemical energy. The animal uses it for their growth and survival. One of the examples of this case is lucerne or alfalfa as the materials for making hay.
Animal feed derived from forage has a crude fiber content of around 18%. However, it has a low energy content. Forages are a valuable source of nutrition. Forages such as alfalfa hay contain as much as 20% protein of total dry matter. Lucerne is in a group of legumes or beans. Green feed that comes from quality grass helps livestock to reproduce at 70% of their normal capacity.
Lucerne hay is part of the results of fermentation process. The purpose of making fermented feed is to maximize the preservation of the nutritional content of forage or other feed so that it can be stored for a long time without reducing the number of nutrients. The better quality of livestock, for example, will affect the sale value of livestock.
By using the fermentation method, the supply of animal feed will be more efficient. The characteristics of ready-made fermented feed are an increase in temperature and a change in color to become softer. One type of fermented feed that is recommended is lucerne hay. What are the advantages of this type of feed? Is lucerne hay high in protein?
If you don’t know much about this feed, let’s read the following explanation. Lucerne hay or alfalfa hay is a type of feed derived from alfalfa plants that are dried by a certain process. If you were previously knowledgeable about grass straw, then the character of Lucerne is different. Lucerne hay is a feed with the main ingredients of leaves and finer stems. At first glance, it will look similar, but in color, it can be easily distinguished where lucerne hay is a lighter green.
It is not difficult to find this type of feed because it has spread across various continents. Even geographic breeders who are not producers of alfalfa can order it. Online trading allows many areas to get lucerne hay. Breeders can use this feed to support the growth of livestock such as cows, rabbits, goats, horses, and even poultry. The main reason is its high protein content. So, this is in line with the most questioned question is lucerne hay high in protein?
You may now switch to lucerne hay from earlier grass hay. The protein content of legumes is higher. The protein content ranges from 16 to 20 percent. Grass straw only has a maximum of 12% protein. It is significantly dependable on the type of material and its quality. So, is lucerne hay high in protein? Briefly, most breeders will say yes.
More about the Aspects and Nutritional Benefits of Lucerne Hay
Feed is one of the top factors that determine livestock productivity. Uncertain feed availability throughout the year makes breeders need to be careful in providing the stock. Therefore, one of the efforts to overcome the shortage of feed availability is employing preservation such as making lucerne hay.
Preservation is started by drying or fermenting. It can make animal feed last longer and not depend on the season anymore. However, providing fresh forage is a priority. Here are several other aspects and nutritional benefits of lucerne hay besides its high protein content.
- Besides being high in protein, lucerne hay is also a rich source of fiber.
- It comes with vitamins A, K, and E and calcium.
- Consuming lucerne in a balanced way will get a fairly high total protein and other important substances such as essential amino acids.
- Lucerne hay contains a valuable source of energy. Breeders need to pay attention to the amount of energy required by livestock as it can help maintain the livestock’s weight at good rates.
- In addition, you also need to consider the digestibility of the feed. Lucerne hay is proven to be easily digested so in addition to accelerating the process of obtaining energy, it will also make your livestock’s intestines healthier.
Based on the question, is lucerne hay high in protein? It is quite easy to conclude that lucerne can be given to several types of livestock because of its high protein. This is really good news for breeders to maximize the growth of their livestock. Lucerne straw has good quality, but breeders can be wiser in the portion given even though protein is good for the body and growth. Conversely, too much protein content can also affect health.