Nutrient Utilization in Crossbred Heifers Fed Urea Supplemented Diet with Varying Nitrogen Sulphur Ratio

A growth-cum-digestibility trial was conducted for 120 d on 24 crossbred heifers of 6 to 12 m age, randomly divided in 4 groups and allotted to 4 isonitrogenous dietary treatments (T₁: in which urea alone was supplemented in concentrate mixture, T₂ urea supplementation along with ammonium sulphate to provide N:S ratio 7:1, T₃ and T₄ same as T₂ except that N:S ratio was 10:1 and 13:1, respectively). The intake of DM, OM, CP and gross energy was not significantly different among four treatments but the intake of DCP and DE was significantly higher in T₂ and T₃ (P < 0.05))han T₁ and T₄, though hhe eifferences setween T₂ and T₃ were nonsignificant. The digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, energy, CP, NDF ADF and hemicellulose were significantly higher in T₂ and T₃ than T₁ and T₄ but the differences between T₂ and T₃ were non-significant. Digestibility of sulphur decreased with increasing intake. Growth rates in T₂ and T₃ were significantly higher as compared to T₄ and T₁; T₁ being lowest. The optimum nitrogen to sulphur ratio was found to range between 7:1 and 10:1.