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Influence of weaning regimen on intake, growth characteristics and plasma blood metabolites in male buffalo calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2013

M. A. Rashid ,
T. N. Pasha ,
M. A. Jabbar ,
A. Ijaz ,
H. Rehman  and
M. S. Yousaf
M. A. Rashid
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
T. N. Pasha*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
M. A. Jabbar
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
A. Ijaz
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
H. Rehman
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
M. S. Yousaf
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
*
†E-mail: tnpasha@uvas.edu.pk
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Abstract

Experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of weaning age on growth performance, feed intake, feed efficiency (FE) and blood metabolites in Nili-Ravi male buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves. Twenty-four male buffalo calves were assigned to one of the three treatment groups: continuous milk feeding (CMF), limited milk feeding (LMF) and early weaning (EW), and weaned off milk at 12, 10 and 8 weeks of age, respectively. For the first 3 days after birth, calves in all three treatments were fed colostrum, and were then moved to individual milk feeding at 10% of BW for the next 6 weeks. Thereafter, the provision of milk to the CMF group was gradually tapered to zero through week 12, using week 6 intakes as a base. The LMF calves were fed milk at 7.5%, 5.0%, 3.5%, and 1.5% of BW during weeks 7 to 10, respectively. Lastly, calves in the EW group were fed milk at 5.0% and 2.5% of BW at weeks 7 and 8, respectively. Calf starter (CS) feed was also provided ad libitum from weeks 2 to 12 and individual intakes were recorded on a daily basis. Blood samples were taken from weeks 6 to 12, on a weekly basis; whereas, the BW, heart girth, withers height and hip width were measured at the start of experiment and later on a weekly basis. Weight gain, average daily gain, and body measurements were the same across all three groups. Milk intake was lower (P < 0.05), whereas CS intake was greater (P < 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the other treatment groups. Dry matter intake was greater (P < 0.05) in the EW and LMF calves compared with the CMF calves. The FE was greater (P < 0.05) in the CMF calves compared with the LMF and EW treatment groups. Blood glucose concentration was similar among the treatments; however, blood urea nitrogen was greater (P < 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the CMF and LMF groups. Plasma concentration of non-esterified fatty acids was higher (P < 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the CMF calves. In light of these results, it is evident that buffalo calves can be successfully weaned as early as 8 weeks of age without negatively affecting their growth performance.

Keywords

buffalo calfgrowth performancemilk feedingstarter intakeweaning
Type
Nutrition
Information
animal , Volume 7 , Issue 9 , September 2013 , pp. 1472 - 1478
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2013 

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