College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner-334001, (Rajasthan)
Eighty three Rathi calves of both the sexes were screened during drought conditions to determine serum minerals viz. calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride. The mean values were 7.88±0.23 mg/dl, 4.3±0.19 mg/dl, 1.9±0.03 mg/dl, 100.21±9.12 mmol/l, 3.9±0.1 mmol/l and 84.32±7.71 mmol/l, respectively and the ranges were from 3.9–12.00 mg/dl, 1.3–8.9 mg/dl, 1.0–3.0 mg/dl, 50.21–150.0 mmol/L, 2.0–7.9 mmol/L and 60.9–110.0 mmol/L, respectively. The mean values of all the minerals were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in female calves than males. The effect of drought was less evident on the female animals.
