Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2017
Nine local (indigenous) Zebu cows of average body weight 156 kg. were used to examine the performance in their first lactation given either fishmeal or wheat bran diets.
Fishmeal diet (A) consisted of 11.5 kg urea treated straw, 4 kg green grass and 0.25 kg of fishmeal. This diet contained an estimated 63 MJME, 518 g of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and 146 g of undegraded dietary protein (UDP). The wheat bran diet (B) consisted of 11.6 kg urea treated straw, 4 kg green grass and 0.5 kg wheat bran. This diet contained an estimated 66 MJME, 523 g of RDP and 91 g of UDP. Total dry matter intake of the two diets, A and B were 7.5 and 7.83 kg/d respectively. Therefore the two diets differed mainly in UDP levels. The composition and nutritive value of the ingredients of the two diets are given in Table 1 and 2.