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Effect of Graded Levels of Cottonseed Cake Supplementation on Intake, Nutrient Digestibility, Microbial N Yield of Growing Native (Bos Indicus) Bulls Fed Rice Straw |
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S. A. Chowdhury |
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| Abstract |
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On a urea-molasses-straw (3:15:82; UMS) based diet effect of graded levels of cottonseed cake (CSC) supplementation on the performance of native (Bos indicus) bulls has been studied for 167 days. Eighteen growing bulls of 129 13.4 kg weight and about 14 months old were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments designed in a completely randomized design, having six animals in each treatment. Three dietary treatments were 0, 0.5 and 1.0 kg CSC per head/d. In addition, each animal also received ad lib. UMS, 4 kg Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) grass, 500 g of each of rice and wheat bran and 60 g mineral mix daily. For unit increase in CSC, total DM intake was increased by 1g/kg W0.75/d but the straw DM intake decreased by 0.54 g/kg W0.75/d. Whole gut digestibility of DM and OM was not effected but N and ADF digestibility increased with incremental increase in dietary CSC. For unit (1kg) increase in dietary CSC intake N and ADF digestibility increased by 10 ( 1.155) and 3 ( 1.732) unit respectively. Microbial N yield for the 0, 0.5 and 1.0 kg CSC were 5.63, 5.28 and 5.16 g/kg OM apparently fermented in the rumen respectively. For each gram increase in CSC, N intake and N balance increased by 0.626 ( 0.015) and 0.625 ( 0.0814) mg/kg W0.75/d. High apparent N balance was contrasted with low live weight gain, e.g., for 1 kg increase in CSC supplementation, live weight gain increased by only 0.077 ( 0.00288) kg/d (r2=0.99; p<0.01). The conversion efficiency was 12.98 kg CSC per kg of live weight gain. It was concluded that unless the protein is being protected from the rumen degradation, addition of CSC to UMS diet would have little nutritional or economic advantages. |
| Keywords:
Cotton Seed Cake; Rice Straw; Microbial N; Live Weight Gain |
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