Influence of Levels of Energy on Nutrient Utilization by Buffaloes Under Control Conditions in Respiration Chamber

Twelve male adult buffaloes in 3 groups of 4 each were fed on diets to provide energy at low level (A), medium level (B) and high level (C). The animals were adopted to the respiration chamber maintained at 22°C and 60 per cent humidity foi conducting metabolism studies one by one. It was observed that the dietary energy levels on straw-based diets did not influence (P > 0.05) the digestibility of DM, CP and GM. The availability of DCP in the respective groups was 2.1, 2.5 and 2.1 per kg W^0.75 and did not differ between the groups. Although the N retention was also not significantly different between the groups, there was a reduction in the urinary N excretion on higher energy intake which were reflected in the higher retention of N as per cent of absorbed N. It is suggested that while computing the ME requirement of the animals, this aspect should be taken into account.