Effect of Supplementation of Different Oil Sources on Body Weight, Milk Yield and Milk Composition in Murrah Buffaloes During Summer

Three different oil sources were evaluated as energy supplement and heat stress buster during summer in the rations of 16 lactating Murrah buffaloes (Av. body weight 557.6±18.14 kg; milk yield 10.2±0.44 liters! day). The animals were randomly divided into 4 groups of 4 animals each and provided 4 kg concentrate mixture (CM) in control (C), or 2.5 kg CM andl.5 kg rice polish (TRP), 3.3 kg CM and 700 g mustard seed (TMS) or 3 kg CM and 1 kg water soaked whole cotton seed (TWSCS) along with green fodder ad libitum to meet their maintenance and production requirements. The 120 days lactation study indicated that there were no significant differences in the average milk yield (8.61, 9.17,8.76 and 8.84 liters) and 4% FCM (12.71, 13.31, 12.58 and 13.29 liters) between C, TRP, TMS and TWSCS groups, respectively. The percentage of milk fat, SNF, milk protein or milk lactose amongst the control and treatment groups TRP, TMS and TWSCS were comparable. All the animals lost body weight which was similar but TMS group recorded the highest total loss (47.5 kg/h) and lowest milk production efficiency. The reproductive efficiency was 50% in C, TMS and TRP groups and 25% in TWSCS group. The lowest milk production efficiency and highest body weight loss in MS supplemented group, lower reproductive efficiency in the WSCS supplemented group indicated that these oil sources may not be appropriate for buffaloes in early lactation and under thermal stress.