Effect of thornless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) supplementation to Tharparkar cattle on water intake and nutrient utilization in hot arid zone of Rajasthan

A feeding trial was conducted to assess the effect of supplementation of thornless cactus on water intake and nutrient utilization in Tharparkar young bulls in hot arid zone of Rajasthan. Eight Tharparkar young bulls were distributed randomly into two groups of four in each, as control (T₀) and treatment (T₁). The animals in each group were fed individually dried chaffed Cenchrus ciliaris grass ad libitum, 1.0 kg of pelleted concentrate mixture in T₀, while1.0 kgof pelleted concentrate mixture and 2.5 kg of fresh chaffed cactus cladodes in T₁. Total drymatter intake (g/kgW^0.75) was 102.5 and 96.9 in animals of T₀ and T₁ group, respectively, whereas water intake for respective groups was 488.09 and 413.64 ml/kgW^0.75. Total digestible nutrient content differed significantly (P<0.05) between the groups and the values were 55.95 and 70.43% in T₀ and T₁ group, respectively. The study suggested that cactus cladodes can be supplemented in the ration of cattle without any adverse effect on health status of animals.