With continued drought and delayed rainfall getting enough quality fodder is a challenge as they are mostly rain feed.
Livestock farmers tend to have surplus fodder in wet months which if well preserved can be used in dry months. Silage is one of the forms of preserving excess fodder while conserving its nutritional value.
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Napier grass is a fast-growing fodder with little rainfall. If therefore farmers can master the art of preserving their seasons of plenty it can boost production in times of drought and scarcity.
In this article, we are going to train on how you can make a Napier silage which can be ready for feeding within seven days of making.
To have good silage we use;
- Molasses
- Livestock microbes (molrplus)
- Water
- Withered 2m high Napier grass
- Silage bags
Napier is cut into one-inch lengths. Dilute three litres of molasses with one litre of molaplus with 18 litres of water.
Sprinkle the solution sparingly on the chopped Napier and mix thoroughly. The Napier should not ooze out any solution when compressed in the feast.
The mixture is well compressed in air-tight bags for a minimum of seven days before it would be ready for feeding.
However, if compressing is not done well, fermentation will not occur, leading to rotting. The goodness of this process is that it is cheap and does not require big space lit pit silage. it’s also long-lasting and durable.
The silage is ready for feeding from the seventh day. Keep it airtight during feeding to avoid rotting. the silage can be supplemented with other folders and concentrates too.
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