Department of Feed & Fodder Technology, College of Veterinary Science, Tirupathi517502, India
Online published on 20 January, 2012.
Silage was prepared by enriching sugarcane (Saccharum Officinarum) tops with 1.5 per cent urea, 2 per cent molasses and 0.5 per cent salt on wet basis. Four complete rations developed by blending the silage with a concentrate mixture in ratios of 70 : 30 (CR-1), 60 : 40 (CR-2), 50 : 50 (CR-3) and 40 : 60 (CR-4) on DM basis were evaluated in buffalo bull calves using a 4 x 4 latin square design. The level of concentrate mixture in the complete rations did not significantly affect the DM, CP and CF digestibilities. The NFE and EE digestibilities were higher (P < 0.05) for CR-3 and CR-4 than CR-1 or CR-2. There was no significant difference in NFE and EE digestibilities between CR-3 and CR-4. No significant difference was observed in N utilization between the complete rations CR-1 to CR-4. The energy values increased as the level of concentrate mixture increased in the complete ration. It was observed that CR-3 having silage, concentrate mixture combination in 50 : 50 ratio was superior to other complete rations.
