Effects of feed restriction on morphometric and biochemical parameters in cattle

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dry matter restriction on morphometry (live body weight and body condition score) and blood biochemistry (glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and total protein) in unproductive cattle. Nine non-descript, crossbred cows (BCS over 4) were randomly distributed in 3 treatments (T 0 , T 1 and T 2 ). T 0 : the control group was fed with dry matter (DM) @ 2.5% of the body weight. T 1 and T 2 were fed with the restricted DM i.e., @ 2% and 1.5% of the body weight, respectively up to 21 days. After 21 days of feed restriction all the cows were fed normal diets i.e., 2.5% of the body weight for next 21 days. Declining rate in body weight were observed (P<0.05) in T 1 and T 2 during the restriction period as well as in re-alimentation. Body condition score was not significantly (P>0.05) affected in restriction period. A declining trend was observed in blood glucose and urea nitrogen concentrations during feed restriction but an increasing trend was also observed during re-alimentation. By this study we can conclude that upto 60% reduction in feed intake will not exert any harmful effect on morphology and physiology of cattle during feed scarcity.