ANN 111: Principles of Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology (2+1)

Characteristics of silage

CHARACTERISTIC OF SILAGE

Very good silage:

• Clean pleasant fruity odour.
• Uniformly green or brownish in colour with absence of butyric acid, absence of moulds, absence of sliminess and absence of proteolysis.
• The pH is between 3.8 and 4.2.
• The amount of ammoniacal nitrogen should be less than 10 per cent of the total nitrogen.

Good silage:

• There may be traces of butyric acid with pH between 4.2 and 4.5.
• The amount of ammoniacal nitrogen is 10-15 per cent of the total nitrogen.
• Other points are same as of very good silage.

Fair silage:

• The silage is mixed with a little amount of butyric acid.
• There may be slight proteolysis along with some mould.
• The pH is between 4.5 and 4.8.
• Ammoniacal nitrogen is 15-20 per cent of the total nitrogen.
• Colour of silage varies between tobacco brown to dark brown.

Poor silage:

• Due to high butyric acid and high proteolysis, it has a bad smell.
• The silage may be infested with moulds.
• Less acidity, pH is above 4.8.
• The amount of ammoniacal nitrogen is more than 20 per cent.
• Colour tends to be blackish and should not be fed.

Comparison on the Characteristics of Silage

	Very good silage	Good silage	Fair silage	Poor silage
Butyric acid	Absence	Traces	Little	High
pH	3.8 – 4.2	4.2 – 4.5	4.5 – 4.8	> 4.8
Ammonical Nitrogen	< 10 %	10 – 15 %	15 – 20 %	> 20 %
Colour	Greenish brown	Brownish	Tobacco brown	Blackish