Impact of Watering Frequency and Feed Source on Growth Performance in Crossbred Calves
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.22.4.9Keywords:
Crossbred calves, Growth performance, Height at wither, Morphometric trait, Water frequencyAbstract
The present investigation was conducted at University Livestock Research Station, Anand, Gujarat to study the effect of watering frequency on growth performance of crossbred calves over 98 days experimental period. The calves (n=24, 6-8 month old) were randomly assigned to four watering frequency and two feeding treatments, a total of eight treatments, on the basis of sex (8 M, 12 F) and body weight (Av. 104.96±2.85 kg), viz., T1F1: watering frequency ad libitum with 50:50 mixture of legume straw and cereal (wheat) straw, T1F2: watering frequency ad libitum with Jowar hay, T2F1: watering frequency once a day with 50:50 mixture of legume and cereal straw, T2F2: watering frequency once a day with Jowar hay, T3F1: watering frequency twice a day with 50:50 mixture of legume and cereal (wheat) straw, T3F2: watering frequency twice a day with Jowar hay, T4F1: watering frequency thrice a day with 50:50 mixture of legume and cereal (wheat) straw and T4F2: watering frequency thrice a day with Jowar hay. In all treatments, fixed quantity of concentrate and green fodder were also offered to calves. At the end of the experiment, average body weight and overall growth rate were highest in T4 (134.43±3.28 kg and 600.68±36.21 g/head/day), followed by T1 and T3, and significantly higher than T2 (p<0.05). Calves fed jowar hay (F2) recorded significantly higher body weight and growth rate than those fed the soybean and wheat straw mixture (F1) (p<0.05). Body length increased by 13.56% and was significantly higher in T1, T3, and T4 compared to T2 (p<0.05), with higher values in F2 (p<0.05). Heart girth increased by 12.88% and was significantly higher in T4 (p<0.05). Height at withers increased by 10.13% and was significantly higher in T4 and in calves fed F2 (p<0.05). Thrice-daily watering (T4) significantly improved body weight and morphometric traits of crossbred calves compared to lower watering frequencies. Feeding jowar hay further enhanced growth performance, indicating that higher watering frequency combined with jowar hay feeding is beneficial for optimum calf growth.
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