Method and composition for enhancing milk production

Abstract

The present invention concerns a method of enhancing milk production by a ruminant that includes providing a feed that contains sorbitol and at least one additional feed component, and orally feeding the feed to the ruminant, the ruminant ingesting about 100 grams, or less, of sorbitol per day.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A method of increasing milk production in a lactating ruminant without statistically increasing dry matter intake, the method comprising:
 orally administering a sugar alcohol and at least one additional feed component to the lactating ruminant, the sugar alcohol comprising one or more of adonitol, allitol, altritol, arabinitol, dulcitol, erythritol, galaxitol, glucitol, iditol, inositol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, perseitol, ribitol, rhamnitol, sorbitol, threitol or xylitol; and   in response to the oral administration, observing the lactating ruminant exhibits increased milk production without statistically increasing dry matter intake.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sugar alcohol comprises at least sorbitol. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sugar alcohol is crystalline sugar alcohol. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sugar alcohol is sugar alcohol syrup. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the at least one additional feed component comprises soybean meal, cotton seed, distiller's grains, soy hulls or wheat middlings. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the at least one additional feed component comprises non-forage feed components, the non-forage feed components comprising one or more of a formula feed, a grain, a bean, a grain product or a bean product. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the lactating ruminant is orally administered forage, the forage comprising one or more of haylage, hay or silage. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the at least one additional feed component comprises forage and non-forage feed components. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the forage forms up to about 50 weight percent of the at least one additional feed component that is orally administered, based upon a total dry matter weight of the at least one additional feed component, and about 50 weight percent or more of the at least one additional feed component comprises the non-forage feed components. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the non-forage feed components comprises one or more of formula feeds, beans, bean meal, bean silage, grain, grain meal, grain silage, derivatives of beans, derivatives of grain, and any combination of any of these,