Studies on feeding management practices followed by the buffalo owners of Buldana district of Maharashtra*

A study was undertaken to ascertain the feeding status of the buffalo owners of Buldana district, the results indicate that majority of the farmers from group I (1 buffalo) and group II (2 to 3 buffaloes) followed grazing animals through out the day, while group III (4 and above buffaloes) adopted grazing for limited period followed by stall feeding. Farmers of all three groups adopted the practice of feeding cereal legume straw mixture to buffaloes and hundred per cent farmers from all three groups fed cotton cake as concentrate to buffaloes. Nearly 95.56, 82.96 and 76.43 per cent farmers from group I, II and III respectively had poor feeding management status. Practically none of the dairy farmers achieved very good status of feeding. Feeding status indicated that the buffaloes received 6.28, 0.434 and 3.84 kg of DM, DCP and TDN respectively for producing 5.27 kg of milk with 6.2 per cent fat in group I, while buffaloes form group II and III received 7.77 and 8.23, 0.510 and 0.660, 4.31 and 4.98 kg DM, DCP and TDN for producing 6.21 and 7.2 kg milk with 6.8 and 7.2 per cent fat respectively.