RESPONSE OF DIET SUPPLEMENTED WITH MUSTARD OIL ON PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE IN LACTATING MURRAH BUFFALOES

Abstract

The study determined the response of diet supplemented with mustard oil on production performance in lactating Murrah buffaloes at Livestock Farm, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, NDVSU, Jabalpur, M.P., India. A total of 12 advance pregnant Murrah buffaloes were selected 21 days pre-partum and randomly allocated in 2 groups of 6 each: CON as control with basal diet + no oil and MO as treatment with basal diet + mustard oil supplementation 200 ml/ animal/day. The trial was continued for 90 days post-partum. Significant positive response (%) in the daily milk yield, milk fat percent and 6% fat corrected milk yield by 8.10, 9.14 and 14.47, respectively was observed in MO in comparison to CON. Besides, there were insignificant findings for DMI, milk solid not fat, protein and lactose per cent, peak milk yield, persistency of lactation and predicted lactation yield (PLY) between the groups. The study affirms that supplementation of mustard oil improves the production potential of lactating Murrah buffaloes and could be recommended to dairy farmers during transition period and early lactation to earn profits.