Statement of the experiment
The experiment was conducted for the period of 1(one) year from July/2012 to June/2013 to investigate the feeding effect on productive and reproductive (pre and post natal) performance improvement of RCC cows.
Selection of Experimental cows
A total of sixteen pregnant RCC cows are collected from the BLRI farm and reared in shed. Four pregnant RCC cows were accommodated in a group. Four cows kept in a group are considered as an experimental unit (Replication).
Weighing of the cows
The experimental pregnant RCC cows were weighed individually at fortnightly interval by using digital cattle weighing balance from the start. The weight was recorded in the register. The weighing of the cows was performed early in the morning before feeding and their calves were also weighed individually at weekly interval by using digital cattle weighing balance from the start and recorded in the resister.
Calculation daily nutrient requirements of pregnant RCC cows
The daily requirements for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) of the pregnant RCC cows are calculated. Nutrient requirements was calculated on the basis of NRC standard. The calculations of the nutritional requirements are shown in below:
Dry matter requirements (DMR)
Total DM requirements of pregnant RCC cows was calculated by using the following formula: DMR (kg/d) = [(ME requirements of pregnant RCC cow per day) / (Metabolizable energy concentration in intake diet dry matter of feeding)]
Crude protein requirements (CPR)
Total requirements of crude protein for maintenance milk production and fetus development of pregnant RCC cows was calculated by using the following formula: CPR (g/d) = RDP + UDP
Metabolizable energy requirements (MER)
Total ME requirement for maintenance (MEm) and fetus development MEf) of pregnant RCC cows was calculated by using the following formula: ME (MJ/day) = MEm + MEf
Feeding trial with pregnant mother and neo-natal calves
A feeding trial is conducted with selected pregnant mother as per design of the experiment. There are four type diets i.e. Standard diet (according to NRC), 5% below of standard diet, 5% addition with standard diet and 10% addition with standard diet will be used in this experiment. A total of 16 (sixteen) pregnant RCC cows is divided into four equal groups and will be assigned to four dietary treatments. There 4 (four) cows in each treatments is used as 3 replicates. Roughage (Green grass and straw) are supplied to the experimental cows twice daily at 9 am to 10 am and 3 pm to 4 pm. Green grass are supplied ad- labium and straw supplied 2(two) kg/day/ cow. Concentrate mixture are supplied to the experimental cows twice daily at 8 am to 8.30 am and 2.30 pm to 3 pm. Concentrate mixture is required 18.77 % CP and 10.39 MJ ME per kg of feed. Management practices of the pregnant RCC cows under the experiment are all most similar. Added nutrients was supplied through formulated concentrate diet and was prepared with commonly used ingredients such as maize crushed, wheat bran, soyabean meal, Til oil cake, Khesari bran common salt and dicalcium phosphate in the proportions of 19,40,9.5,17,1.5 and 2.5 for pregnant RCC cows, respectively and maintained require level of ME and CP. The live weight was taken individually at fortnightly with the help of a portable digital cattle weighing balance.
Body condition score
Body condition score (BCS) of the experimental cows were carried using visual plus palpation technique according to the guidelines established. This method grades the cow’s conditioning status on a six-point scale (1-6), where 1 reflects very thin and 6 reflects very fat animal. Cows were body condition scored on the day of their inclusion in the experiment and after 30 days interval till the end of the experiment.
Data Analysis
The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS 13.0 for Windows statistical package and treatment means comparison were assessed by DMRT to test the significance among the treatment.