Effects of feeding different dietary protein and energy levels on the performance of 12–15-month-old buffalo calves

Abstract

The study investigated the performance response of different dietary protein and energy levels of Nili-Ravi buffalo calves. Sixty buffalo calves of 12-15 months of age and similar body weight (140 ± 14 kg) were divided in to 12 groups, five animals in each group, according to 4 × 3 factorial arrangements. Twelve rations were formulated containing four levels of crude protein (CP; 10.5%, 12.20%, 13.80%, and 15.55%) each with three levels (1.72, 2.11, and 2.5 Mcal/Kg) of metabolizable energy (ME). Experiment lasted for 100 days; first 10 days were given for dietary adaptation. Daily feed consumption in calves fed all experimental diets were statistically significant (p<0.05) across all treatments. Higher feed intake was observed in buffalo calves fed diets containing 12.20% and 13.85% CP with 2.11 Mcal/kg ME. Results of dry matter (DM) digestion were significantly different (p<0.05) across all treatments. There was a quadratic (p<0.05) response of DM digestibility for levels of dietary protein while, curvilinear (p<0.05) trend with respect to dietary energy levels. Daily weight gain of buffalo calves did not show any treatment effect. The outcome of the present study indicate that 12-15-month-old buffalo calves perform adequately well when fed on diets containing 12.2% CP and 2.10 ME Mcal/Kg.

Effect of Crude Protein Levels in Concentrate and Concentrate Levels in Diet on &lt;i&gt;In vitro&lt;/i&gt; Fermentation

“…These observations are in agreement with previous in vivo reports in beef cattle (Chen et al, 2010; Yuangklang et al, 2010) and dairy cows (Ghorbani et al, 2011; Norrapoke et al, 2012). However, the present results did not agree with other researches of cattle (Paengkoum and Tatsapong, 2009) and buffalo (Shahzad et al, 2011; Chanthakhoun et al, 2012). These variations indicated that the effects of CP levels on the digestibility of nutrients varied and depended on factors such as levels and sources of protein (Milis and Liamadis, 2007; Chantiratikul et al, 2009).…”

Nutritional Studies on Compensatory Growth Phenomenon in Fattening Buffalo Calves

“…Concerning DCP conversion, calves fed tested ration T4 in Table (4) had the best value in respect of kg DCP : kg gain in comparison with control (T1) or the other tested ones (T2 and T3). These data are in harmony with those of Shahzad et al (2011) and Singh et al (2014) when buffalo calves male or female fed diets contained different protein and energy levels.…”

“…Similar trend were observed by Anjum et al (2013) with Holstein heifers and Sami et al (2016) with lambs. While, Shahzad et al (2011) and Singh et al (2014) revealed that there were no significant difference in daily gain of buffalo calves consumed rations contained different levels of protein and energy. On the other hand, our results are indicated that all values of daily gain of calves fed either restricted rations or non-restricted one during restricted periods (Table 4) were found to be within the normal range as reported by Afifi (1977) and Metry (1999) who reported that the daily gain of buffalo calves was between 800 to 900 g/d, depending on the level of concentrates.…”

Growth performance, and enteric and manure greenhouse gas emissions from Murrah calves fed diets with different forage to concentrate ratios

“…(2011) , with highest daily gain at 50% and 70% concentrate levels. In contrast, feeding low, medium and high dietary protein and energy levels did not affect daily gain and feed efficiency in buffalo calves ( Shahzad et al., 2011 ). The better daily gain with C60 diet (CP 142 g/kg DM and ME 10.3 MJ/kg DM) also indicated that nutrient requirements of Murrah calves were more precisely met compared with C40 (CP 114 g/kg DM and ME 9.28 MJ/kg DM) and C20 (CP 79.2 g/kg DM and ME 7.9 MJ/kg DM) diets.…”