RESPONSE OF LACTATING BUFFALOES TO WHOLE COTTON AND CANOLA OILSEEDSS

Abstract

The present study was carried out at the Agricultural Experimental Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. Two groups, each of five multiparous lactating buffaloes, were arranged in two Swing Over experiments. Crushed full fat cottonseed or canola seeds was used to replace 25% and 50% of energy of concentrate mixture which contained 55% starch value and 14% crude protein. Fat content of the experimental rations averaged 3.4, 4.5% and 6.3% for control, low and high oilseed levels, respectively.

Nutrient requirements were calculated for each buffaloe according to fat corrected milk yield and live body weight, being adjusted at the beginning of each experimental period consisting of 21 days preliminary and 15 days as collection period. Sampling was carried out during the collection period.

The objective of the present work was to study the effect incorporation of full fat oil seed in iso-caloreic iso-nitrogenous diets differed in fat content on milk yield, composition, rumen fermentation and plasma lipid metabolites. The results could be summarized as follows:

I. Feeding oilseed-containing diets significantly decreased nutrient digestibilities except ether extract, which showed significant increase for high fat diets. 2. Crude fiber digestibility was the most affected parameter by increased dietary fat level.