Long-term storage of green or partially green corn stalks after autumn harvest with silage can well preserve its nutritional components, and its texture is soft and fragrant, which can stimulate the appetite of cattle and sheep and solve the problem of forage shortage in winter and spring. At the same time, making silage saves half of the floor space compared with stacking the same amount of hay, and is also beneficial to fire prevention, rain prevention, mildew prevention and elimination of crop pests on straw.
The key technology of making silage is to provide necessary conditions for the reproduction of lactic acid bacteria:
First, in the preparation process, the raw materials should be as short as possible, the pits should be compacted and dense, and the air in the pits should be excluded as much as possible. Second, the moisture content in raw materials is about 75% (that is, when water can be squeezed out by hand without dripping water), which is most suitable for the reproduction of lactic acid bacteria. When silaging, it is necessary to decide whether to sprinkle water according to the green degree of corn stalks. Third, raw materials should contain a certain amount of sugar, and the sugar content of corn straw generally meets the requirements.
There are many kinds of silage methods for corn stalks, and only the most basic general silage methods are introduced here, which is convenient for popularization in rural areas.
1. Choose a place with solid soil, high and dry terrain, leeward and sunny, and rain is not easy to flood to build a silage cellar. The shape of the pit is generally divided into circular and rectangular, and the pit wall is flat and smooth, impermeable to water and air. The width of the cellar should generally be less than the depth, and the better ratio is 1: 1.5-2, which is beneficial to the compaction of raw materials by their own weight and can reduce losses. The size of the cellar should be determined according to the amount of silage and the number of livestock. The general diameter of a circle is between 1.7-3 meters and the depth is 3- 4 meters. The bottom should be the bottom of the pot. Rectangular pits are suitable for large livestock farms, with a width of1.7-3m and a depth of 2.3-3.3m, and the length depends on the amount of silage. The four corners of a rectangular cellar should be round to facilitate the falling and compaction of raw materials. In order to reduce the loss of silage, a plastic film should be laid at the bottom and around the cellar.
2. To measure the capacity of silage cellar, we must first grasp the weight of unit volume (cubic meter) of silage according to the water content and chopping degree of raw materials (for example, the weight of chopped corn stalks is 430-500 kilograms per cubic meter under the condition of low water content; Rough cutting is 380-450kg), and then multiplied by the volume of the cellar (round cellar is 3. 14x radius 2x cellar depth; Rectangular cellar is cellar length × cellar width × cellar depth, all in meters), that is, the weight (kg) of silage in the cellar is obtained.
3. Silage raw materials are best cut and stored on the same day. Before loading the cellar, check whether the cellar bottom and the cellar wall are paved with "bedding" and whether the cellar side is paved with reed mats (to prevent raw material pollution and soil from entering the cellar), and then start mowing (the mowing length should not exceed 3.3 cm), and load while cutting to avoid the chopped raw materials from being exposed to the sun for too long outside the cellar. The raw materials loaded into the cellar should be spread out at any time. If the raw material is too dry, sprinkle some water evenly. It needs to be compacted every 30 cm. Pay special attention to the compaction around the cellar, preferably with a stone pestle or a tractor. Fill it layer by layer, and seal the cellar when it is dome-shaped at 0.5- 1 m from the ground. When sealing the cellar, first cover it with plastic film, add a layer of soft hay, then add soil to tamp it and pat the surface flat. After the pit is closed, dig a drainage ditch around the pit mouth 1 m, and regularly check whether the pit top sinks. If settlement is found, it should be repaired again to prevent air and rain from entering.
4. Identification Under general production conditions, the quality of silage can be evaluated by smelling and looking at its smell, color and texture. Normal silage has fragrant smell, strong sour taste and no musty smell. The closer the color is to the real color of the raw material, the better. The texture is soft and slightly moist, and the stems and leaves are mostly kept in the raw material state and clearly visible. If the sour taste is light, or it has a sour taste or odor, the color is brown or black, and the texture is sticky or hard, it belongs to inferior silage. Silage with poor quality, bad smell, adhesion, mildew and blackening cannot be fed to livestock.
5. Generally, the fermentation process can be completed in a few months with silage straw, which can be used to open pits. After the circular cellar is uncovered, it can be taken down layer by layer. You can't dig a nest in the middle. Cover it in time after picking. Rectangular pits should be excavated from one end, vertically downwards and then covered. The feeding amount should be controlled at 7 7- 10/0kg per cow, 0-2.5kg per sheep and 0-5-20kg per cow. Silage straw has laxative effect and should not be fed alone. Pregnant animals should be carefully fed and fed less. 3%-5% lime milk can be used to neutralize acid.
Second, the key to the success of silage production
1. Raw materials should have a certain water content. Generally, the water content of raw materials for silage should be kept at 65%-70%, and it is not easy to silage below or above this water content. When the moisture content is high, add bran to absorb water, and when the moisture content is low, add water.
2. Raw materials should have a certain sugar content. Generally, the sugar content of raw materials is not less than 2%.
3. Silage process should be fast. The most effective way to shorten the silage time is fast. The silage process of small farms usually takes 3 days to complete. This requires: fast collection, fast delivery, fast cutting, fast loading, fast stepping and fast sealing.
4. Compaction. When loading the cellar, we must compact the silage, exhaust the air in the silage as much as possible, and create an anaerobic environment as much as possible.
5. seal. Silage containers must not leak or be exposed to air. Be sure to pay attention to the maintenance work the day after tomorrow.
Silage can be made successfully as long as it is well mastered: water, sugar, quickness, solidity and density.
What links should livestock pay attention to when feeding silage?
When taking silage from rectangular silage cellar, it should be taken from one end gradually, and it is forbidden to dig holes to avoid long-term exposure of its surface and affect the quality of silage. Once the silo is opened, it must be taken continuously every day, so that the silage can be fully fed before the mold is fully propagated. If the feeding is stopped halfway and the interval is long, the cellar sealing must be carried out according to the original cellar sealing method, and it must be airtight and watertight. Take as much as you need every day, and cover it with straw mats or plastic film in time after use.
Silage is suitable for all kinds of livestock and poultry and generally likes to eat. But when a single animal is first used, there must be a habit process, so the feeding time must be gradually increased from less to more.
Silage is good, but only as part of roughage. Calculated by dry matter, the dosage accounts for more than 50% of the dry matter of the diet. Because of its laxative effect, it is necessary to control the feeding amount of pregnant female livestock. Feed quantity cannot be generalized, but also depends on the quality of silage, livestock type, age and production direction.
(Take cows as an example: the daily feed for lactating cows is 5-7kg per 100kg of body weight. Fattening cattle 3-5 kg).
Frozen silage must be thawed before feeding. When silage deteriorates, it should be taken out and discarded in time to avoid livestock poisoning or other diseases.