Biochemical parameters of blood in steers when sweet clover various silages are included in their rations

An important condition for intensifying the production of livestock products is improving the quality of feed. For dairy and beef cattle, silage is one of the main types of bulk feed. A high-yielding forage crop rich in energy, protein and other nutrients is sweet clover. It is salt-tolerant, drought-resistant and even in unfavorable years is capable of producing a stable yield of herbal mass in all soil and climatic zones of the Kurgan region. The purpose of the work was to determine the eff ect of feeding various sweet clover silages on the biochemical parameters of the blood of steers of Black-and-White breed. Two experiments were carried out during the research. In the fi rst experiment, animals received sweet clover harvested in the phase of late budding – early flowering. The control group of steers received ensiled sweet clover, the 1st experimental group received sweet clover preserved with formalin (0.1 %), and the 2nd experimental group received sweet clover preserved with benzoic acid (0.3 %). In the second experiment, the steers received sweet clover harvested in the flowering phase. The control group of steers received ensiled sweet clover, the 1st experimental group received sweet clover preserved with formalin at a dose of 0.5 l per 1 ton of herbal mass, and the 2nd experimental group received sweet clover preserved with benzoic acid at a dose of 3 kg/t. Hay and concentrated feed accounted for 15 and 35 % of the ration, respectively. It was found that feeding ensiled and chemically preserved sweet clover harvested in the late budding – early fl owering phase did not have a negative effect on the studied interior parameters in steers. As a result of studying the blood parameters of steers housed on rations that included silage and formalin-preserved (0.05 %) and benzoic acid sweet clover (3 kg/t), harvested during the fl owering phase, no negative impact on the animals’ bodies was noted.