Feeding techniques to enhance the growth in calves

Abstract

With the objective of investigating the feasibility of the technique of liquid feeding of concentrates to calves through nipple buckets with and with out incorporation of blood meal in the ration, 24 calves below one month of age at Cattle Breeding Farm Thumburmuzhy, Kerala Agricultural university were randomly allotted to four treatment groups. The four treatment groups were Tl - dry feeding and no supplementation of blood meal. Tz - dry feeding and supplementation with blood meal T3 - liquid feeding and no supplementation with blood meal. T. - liquid feeding .and supplementation with blood meal. The dry feeding groups were offered feed in feeding baskets and the same feed suspended in water was fed to liquid feeding groups through feeding nipples fixed on aluminium buckets. The experiment was conducted during the months of April to September, 1997 where the temperature Humidity Index values were above 75 per cent indicating a stressful environment due to the combined effect of high temperature and high humidity

which adversely affected the growth of calves in all four treatment groups. Intakes of water, concentrate and roughage were not significantly different between treatment groups but liquid feeding group showed a slightly higher trend on water intake. There was no significant difference between treatment groups in terms of live weight gain, body length, height and chest girth. But the general trend varied for live weight and chest girth. Body weights were lower in T) and T4 groups where liquid feeding was resorted to. The dry feeding group had better chest girth than liquid feeding group which reflected in their live weight gain also. Monthly values of haematocrit, haemoglobin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum glucose, serum cholesterol and plasma protein were not significantly different between treatment groups. But treatment groups receiving blood meal showed slightly higher haemoglobin per cent. The plasma protein values were slightly higher in groups receiving ration in dry form which had a higher daily weight gain. Treatment groups on liquid diet had more episodes of diarrhea than those on dry diet.

Treatment groups showed no significant difference with regard to carcass characteristics but the trend indicated higher meat yield from groups receiving dry feed. Only during the last two months, i.e., in the fifth and sixth months when the rumen is somewhat fully developed, some beneficial effect of liquid mode of feeding was evident. Liquid feeding through nipple is known to bypass rumen and in animals with ill developed ~umen, liquid feeding should show beneficial effects on growth. In the present 'study such a difference could not be observed possibly due to the fact that all the rations contained fish meal which has high content of protein escaping rumen degradation. The level of 30 per cent replacement of protein by blood meal showed no retardation in feed intake or growth in the experimental animals.