How Much Fodder Does a Cow Eat Per Day?
Knowing how much fodder your herd actually needs each day is the starting point for almost every other decision — how much land or fodder you need to grow, and what size chaff cutter actually makes sense.
The Recommended Daily Ration
According to the National Dairy Development Board's feeding guidelines for dairy animals, a normal adult cow or buffalo should be fed roughly 6 kg of dry fodder and 15–20 kg of green fodder per day, alongside compound cattle feed or bypass protein feed and an area-appropriate mineral mixture. Where more than one type of green fodder is fed, NDDB recommends keeping legume and non-legume green fodder in roughly a 1:3 ratio. The full ration is best split into three or four smaller feedings through the day rather than given all at once, which improves digestibility and reduces spoilage.
Scaling It to Your Herd
Using the 15–20 kg green fodder figure as a rough guide, a 10-animal herd needs somewhere around 150–200 kg of green fodder a day; a 20-animal herd, roughly 300–400 kg. That's the number worth comparing against a chaff cutter's rated capacity — see our guide on chaff cutter capacity explained for how the market's kg/hr ratings compare, and where the Gokul 15 and Gokul Tractor PTO fit.
Why Chopping the Fodder Matters
None of this ration is used efficiently if a meaningful share of it is wasted before the animal even eats it — which is exactly what tends to happen with long, uncut fodder stalks left whole or roughly hand-cut. We cover the research on fodder wastage and chopped fodder in detail in our guide on chaff cutting and milk production efficiency. Our fodder-savings calculator uses figures like these to estimate how much fodder chopping could save for your specific herd size.
See What This Means for Your Herd
Tell us your herd size, and we'll help you work out your daily fodder requirement and the right chaff cutter to match it — no obligation.
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