Feeding biochar to dairy cows: Effects on feed intake and feeding behaviour

Catherine Anne Portway

Bakalářská práce

Abstract:

In the past decade, several studies have taken place on the use of biochar as a regular feed supplement in livestock. This thesis has focused on the effects of biochar on the feed intake, rumination time and milk production in dairy cows. The effects were tested on 34 cows, which were divided into two groups, a group with a control diet (CTL) and a group with biochar supplementation (BIO) for 30 days after that the diets were swapped between the groups. The total length of the experiments was 60 days. We hypothesized that biochar in the diet of dairy cows would not decrease dry matter intake (DMI) eating intensity, and rumination time. This was confirmed, however the DMI had a tendency to decrease, which might have been due to the high adsorption properties of biochar leading to certain nutrients being bound and becoming unavailable for the cow for digestion. Furthermore, in the cows supplemented with biochar a decrease in milk production has been observed. So far, this thesis is one of few which focused on the effects of biochar on milk production in dairy cows and further research needs to be done to ensure no negative effects on the productivity of dairy cows and further understand the processes occurring in the body.

Keywords

biochar, feed additive, dairy cow, feed, fermentation

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 21. 4. 2023

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 24. 5. 2023
• Vedoucí: Ing. Miroslav Joch, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Filip Jančík, externi

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta agrobiologie, potravinových a přírodních zdrojů

Bakalářský studijní program:
Agriculture and Food