Comparative Feeding Value of Oat-Pea Forages Ensiled at Two Stages of Maturity

Oat-pea forages were ensiled directly from the field at either early-head or latemilk stages of oat maturity during 1963, 1964, and 1965. Each year the silages were fed to two groups of five lactating dairy cows in a switchback design based on three 28-to 35-day periods. Ad lib. silage intake, significantly greater for early-cut silage on an as-fed basis (p < 1%), was not significantly different for the two silages on a dry matter basis. Although daily FCM was significantly greater on the early-cut silage during the 1964-65 feeding trial (p < 5%), differences were never greater than 0.3 kg/cow/day during any one of the three trials. Live weight changes were more favorable for late-cut silage during the first and third feeding trials and for earlycut silage during the second. Analytical values, which were more propitious for early-cut ~.ilage, were not reflected unequivocally in the feeding trials.