Open AccessA NOTE ON PROTEIN REQUIREMENT OF FRIESIAN COWS FOR MAINTENANCE IN A TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT
Author(s) -
J. A. Ibeawuchi,
A. O. Akinsoyinu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nigerian journal of animal production
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0331-2062
DOI - 10.51791/njap.v14i.2621
Subject(s) - hay , latin square , digitaria , zoology , biology , nitrogen , factorial experiment , mathematics , chemistry , agronomy , food science , rumen , fermentation , statistics , organic chemistry
Four dry non pregnant Friesian cows averagely weighing 376 +19.2kg were in a 4x4 Latin square design, assigned to four dietary treatments: (A) hay (Digitaria ezilis), (B) hay plus brewers dried grains, (C) brewers dried grains plus 5% molasses and (D) brewers dried grains plus 10% molasses, to assess the protein requirement for maintenance. The mean metabolic faecal nitrogen (MFN) and endogenous urinary nitrogen (EUN) values were 0.361 0.022g/1003 DM intake and 0.079 0.024g/day /w0.75 kg respectively. The mean biological values (BV) were 53.5 72.4, 58.4 and 58.1 for treatinents A, B, C and D. These MFN EUN and BV values facilitated the use of factorial equation, which gave average daily digestible crude protein (DCP) requirement for maintenance as 1.45g/W0.75 kg (0.94 -- 2.85).