How to Make Silage for Animal Feed
In areas such as Indonesia, where there are two seasons, the rainy season and the dry season, it is an important concern for farmers who raise livestock such as cows, goats, sheep, etc. Due to the limited grass in the dry season.
The abundance of forage in the rainy season is an opportunity for farmers to save forage for the dry season. But how can the forage that is stored not dry and the nutritional value or protein is not reduced, and the forage can be stored for 1 month, 2 months or 6 months or even 1 year. For this reason, one more technology for forage control is introduced, namely Silage.
Forage that has been cut from land such as Elephant Grass, then dried with 60% water content before being stored in a closed condition without air or commonly known as anaerobic.
Why does this forage need to be dried? This drying is done to reduce the water content of the forage, so this forage cannot be damaged quickly. Drying can be done using a dryer, or if you want to be more efficient, you can dry it for a while under the hot sun.
What is silage? Silage is a preserved forage feed that is stored in airtight plastic bags or silos, drums, and has been fermented in an airless or anaerobic condition. This silage process involves bacteria or microbes that form sour milk, namely Lactis Acidi and Streptococcus which live anaerobically with an acidity degree of 4 (pH 4).
Also read: 7 Best Rabbit Feeds and How to Give It
Therefore, why during the silage process, forage feed stored in a plastic bag or in a silo must be tightly closed, so that the silage process runs well and forage feed is not quickly decomposed by other bacteria and fungi.
The Purpose of Making Silage For Animal Feed
- As a reserve and supply of animal feed during the long dry season.
- To store and accommodate excess forage during the rainy season, so that it can be used at any time during the dry season.
- Utilize forage feed in conditions with the best nutritional value such as high protein.
- Utilizing feed sources from agricultural waste or agricultural and plantation agro-industry products such as rice bran, bran, oil palm cake, tofu dregs, corn tumpi, corn cob.
Silage Making Process:
Ingredients that need to be prepared:
- Molasses (molasses) = 3% of silage material
- Bran = 5% of silage material
- Groats = 3.5% of silage material
- Onggok = 3% of silage material
- Elephant grass or forage as silage material
- Silos or plastic bags.
How to make Silage
- Cut the green grass to a size of 5-10 cm using a machete, or using a chopper machine. The purpose of small grass clippings is to keep the grass that is inserted in the silo in a tight and dense state so that there is no room for oxygen and water to enter.
- Mix the feed ingredients until they become one mixture.
- The animal feed ingredients are put in a silo and simultaneously compacted so that there are no air cavities.
- Animal feed ingredients are introduced to exceed the surface of the silo to prevent the possibility of shrinkage of the contents of the silo. And there is no free space between the silo cover and the topmost feed surface.
- After all the forage feeds are put in, they are given a plastic sheet, and tightly closed, and given a weight such as a stone, or a plastic bag, or a plastic bag filled with soil.
How to take silage
- After six to eight (6-8) weeks the ensilase process has been completed, and the silo can be dismantled, then the ensilase is taken. The proper silage process can last one to two (1-2) years, or even more.
- Take sufficient silage for animal feed, for example for 3-5 days.
- The freshly dismantled silage should be dried or aerated first.
- Do not open the silo often to collect silage, take what is needed, and close the silage tightly again, so that the silage is not easily damaged.
Characteristics of good silage
- Sour taste and smell
- The color of the fodder is still green
- The texture of the grass is still clear
- Not moldy, not slimy, and lumpy
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