Vol. 6, Issue 4, Part A (2021)

Author(s): Md. Saiful Islam, M Raisul Alam, Md. Enayet Kabir and Falguni Dadok

Abstract: The study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) and Ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) on milk production and growth performance of indigenous lactating cows and growth of calves in smallholding farming systems. Twenty-seven lactating cows weighing 138±2.55 kg and their calves were included in three locations within 15 kilometers of the Bangladesh Agricultural University campus. Animals of each area were divided into three equal groups: group T1 (control) received a basal diet without any supplement, whereas the group T2 and T3 received the same basal diet but supplemented with Sesbania and Leucaena @ 25% of dry matter requirement, respectively. The feeding trial started just after parturition and continued for 45 days of lactation. The results revealed that the chemical composition of Sesbania aculeate and Leucaena leucocephala in respect of DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF, lignin, total tannin, and condensed tannin were 26.82, 90.61, 21.13, 26.97, 20.54, 4.64, 4.16, 0.49, and 28.3, 92.95, 22.43, 24.59, 17.82, 5.32, 4.73, 0.72 percent respectively. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference among the areas as regards daily milk yield, daily weight gain of cows and calves. Tree foliage’s supplementation resulted in significant improvement in milk yield and average daily body weight gain of cows and calves over the T1 control group whereas the supplemented groups T2 and T3 were statistically at par. However, the highest milk yield and daily body weight gain of calves were found in Leucaena fed group. Therefore, it may be concluded that the production of Sesbania and Leucaena should be encouraged for feeding lactating cows in small-holding farming systems.

DOI: 10.22271/veterinary.2021.v6.i4a.366