Effect of feeding reconstituted and urea treated bajra grain (Penstiseturn typhoideum) an growth and performance in buffalo calves

Abstract

Growing buffalo calves (20) were divided into 4 groups and fed concentrate mixture consisting of barley, groundnutcake and rice polish (T1)barley was replaced by raw bajra grain (T2), barley was replaced by reconstituted bajra grain (T3) and 40% of the concentrate mixture was replaced by 4% untreated bajra grain (T4). All the concentrates were isonitrogenous. Wheat straw was fed ad lib. as a basal diet. The average daily DM intake due to treatments was statistically similar. The digestibility coefficients of OM, CP, CF and NFE were significantly (P&lt0.01) lower in T2 than in T1, T3 and T4. The 4 respective diets contained 8.10, 7.22, 8.06 and 8.60% DCP and 63.33,57.18,62.91 and 64.69% TDN, which were lower (P&lt0.01) in T2 than in other treatments. The nitrogen balance was statistically similar in all the treatments. The average daily weight gain (g) was highest in T4 (529.51) followed by T3 (514.75), T1 (508.20) and was lowest in T2 (442.621, however, the differences were nonsignificant. Average body weight gain/100 kg body weight was significantly (P&lt0.01 ) lower in T2 than in T1, T3 and T4. DM consumed per kg gain was 9.40 kg in T2 which was higher (P&lt0.05) than 8.35 kg in T1, 8.29 kg in T3, and 7.93 kg in T4. Cost/kg live weight gain including the cost of bajra grain processing was Rs 23.51. 25.80,22.38 and 22.21 in treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively.