Feeding strategies to increase growth of early weaned Bali calves in East Java

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at the Beef Cattle Research Institute, Grati, East Java, to determine the best use of locally available feed resources to increase growth rates of Bali calves weaned at 6 months old age. Male Bali calves (n=20) aged 6 months (59.1 ± 1.9 kg live weight) were allocated to one of four treatment diets, elephant grass ad libitum, elephant grass ad libitum with -1 leucaena at 10g DM/kg W.d , leucaena ad libitum and native grass ad libitum, for 11 weeks. The animals were maintained in individual pens, with feed intake measured daily and live weight measured twice each week. On three separate occasions during the experiment digestibility, by collection of total faecal output over 7 consecutive days, and water intake were measured. Weaned Bali calves offered a diet of leucaena ad libitum had a greater live weight gain (0.336 kg/d) than animals offered elephant grass ad libitum (0.102 kg/d), elephant grass with leucaena (0.192 kg/d) and native grass ad libitum (0.122 kg/d), with no significant difference in live weight gain between the latter three treatments. Total dry matter intake did not differ between treatments and ranged from 24.3 -1 to 29.3 g DM/kg W.d . Dry matter digestibilty of the leucaena diet was higher (699 g/kg) than the
other treatments (580 to 623 g/kg) and animals offered leaucean ad libitum had a greater digestible -1 -1 organic matter intake (16.9 g/kg W.d ) than animals offered elephant grass (12.5 g/kg W.d ) and -1 elephant grass with leucaena (13.9 g/kg W.d ). Total water intake, imbibed plus contained in the feed, -1 did not differ between the four treatments and ranged from 124.1 to 151.3 g/kg W.d . It is concluded that a diet consisting solely of leucaena will result in greater live weight gain of early weaned Bali calves than elephant grass or native grass.