130
Comparative Value of Some Concentrates
Smaller quantities of concentrates richer in
protein were fed to maintain the same level of pro-
tein for all the treatments, and it is noted that the
consumption of total dry matter was also lower
in these groups. Concentrates and coarse fodders
were fed separately. Where the quantity of
concentrate was comparatively higher, as with
arhar chuni and mung chuni, the intake of wheat
straw was slightly lower, but in most of the treat-
ments its intake, though fed ad lib, did not appre-
ciably increase with the lower amount of concen-
trates, which indicates that the animals were
usually satiated with the average total dry matter
consumed in the oil cake treatments, Thus it
appears that on an average 2.22 lb. total dry
matter per 100 lb. liveweight is necessary for
Hissar heifers between one and two years of age
and weighing between 400 and 500 lb., but the
rate of consumption may be higher if the ration
consists mostly of palatable feeds. In the mung
chuni treatment, the average consumption per
100 lb. liveweight was as high as 2.60 lb. The
higher intake of dry matter must have influenced
to some extent, the better growth rate with guan
gram, arhar chuni and mung chuni.
Effect of the concentrate on the digestibility of the
total ration. Digestibility trials were conducted
with three animals under each treatment during
1940 and 1941 and with two animals in 1942.
The average digestibility coefficients of the
nutrients of the total ration for each treatment
have been recorded in Table X.
TABLE X
Digestibility of total ration with the different concentrate (per cent)
Treatments
1940
Linseed cake
.
.
.
.
.
Groundnut cake (undecorticated) .
Gram
.
.
.
.
.
.
Arhar chuni
.
.
.
.
.
1941
Linseed cake
.
.
.
.
.
Groundnut cake (decorticated) . .
Rape cake .
.
.
.
.
Mung chuni
.
.
.
.
.
1942
Linseed cake
.
.
.
.
.
Til cake . . . . . . . .
Guar
.
.
.
.
.
.
Organic
matter
59.2
55.3
65.0
62.7
61.2
59.9
60.5
62.1
60.1
58.2
64.0
Protein
62.8
63.2
59.7
50.9
61.9
63.1
63.1
56.5
68.2
68.3
68.3
Ether
extract
77.3
79.6
72.6
65.1
61.7
65.3
73.5
47.4
58.6
71.5
63.7
Fibre
56.2
51.2
61.8
71.0
59.7
59.4
58.7
58.5
56.0
54.2
57.9
N-free
extract
55.7
54.7
66.6
60.9
59.9
56.3
58.1
63.9
60.0
56.8
66.0
Total
carbohy-
drates
55.7
54.5
65.0
65.0
59.9
57.4
58.3
62.1
59.0
55.9
63.2
When gram, guar or pulse by-products are
present in the ration both organic matter and total
carbohydrates are better digested, whereas the
digestibility of protein is superior when concen-
trates richer in protein are fed.
This indicates that the concentration of a
nutrient in the total ration plays an important
role in its digestibility. The level of protein was
the same in all the treatments, but due to a lower
intake of total dry matter the concentration of
protein was higher in the treatments with feeds
richer in protein, resulting in its better digestibi-
lity. The same tendency is noticed with the
digestibility of ether extract. Similar observa-
tions were made by the author [1943] on a previous
occasion. The lower digestibility of protein of the
total ration with gram, arhar chuni and mung
chuni might also have been influenced by the
presence of more easily digestible carbohydrates.
Gain in liveweight in relation to the intake of
digestible nutrients. The increases in liveweight
per unit of digestible protein and total digestible
nutrients have been calculated (Table XI) to com-
pare the feeding value of the nutrients from the
different concentrates. The pulses and pulse by-
products have always given higher increase in