Abstract 77

Jaiswal,-RS; Verma,-ML; Agrawal,-IS

Department of Animal Science, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263 145, India.

Indian-Journal-of-Animal-Nutrition. 1988, 5: 3, 188-194; 23 ref.

Crossbred heifers, 7 to 18 months old, in groups of 5 each, were fed on a diet based on rice straw and 1 of 6 protein supplements: untreated straw plus urea to increase its nitrogen content to the value of ammonia-treated straw; untreated straw and concentrates (groundnut cake and ground maize) to balance the energy and protein requirements; ammonia (urea)-treated straw (ATS) without protein supplement; ATS with cottonseed cake as a protein supplement; ATS with Leucaena leucocephala leaf meal as a protein supplement; and ATS with fish meal as a protein supplement. Digestibilities were: DM 44.7, 49.4, 43.2, 45.4, 46.9 and 45.8%; neutral detergent fibre 49.7, 50.4, 53.3, 53.3, 54.6 and 57.5; acid detergent fibre 34.7, 20.0, 40.9, 41.0, 43.5 and 44.4; gross energy 49.0, 54.1, 52.2, 54.0, 52.2 and 53.4; and crude protein 60.8, 53.4, 26.9, 40.0, 42.5 and 27.9, respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups in the balance of N and calcium. Phosphorus balance differed between groups and was 5.0, 10.0, 8.5, 9.6, 7.0 and 9.6 g/day, respectively. Average daily body weight gain was 111, 473, 246, 427, 290 and 327 g.