Comparative performance of five genotypes of Indonesian large ruminants. 1. Effect of dietary quality on liveweight and feed utilization

Abstract

Diets containing 85% (high concentrate) or 30% (high roughage) concentrate were individually fed for 280 or 224 days, respectively, to young Madura, Ongole, Bali, Grati (or Friesian crossbred) and swamp buffalo bulls. Each feeding trial was divided into early or late periods to study the effects of approaching maturity on growth and feed use. The digestibility of dietary nutrients, the balances of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium, and the metabolizability of the gross energy of the high-roughage diet were measured. Growth rates in decreasing order were Grati, Ongole, buffalo, Bali and Madura. Genotype differences in growth were generally the result of variations in intake rather than in feed use. There were genotype x trial interactions in feed intake and liveweight gain during the latter part of each trial in that on the high-concentrate diet, the performance of Ongole and Madura bulls was poorer than that of the Grati and buffalo bulls whereas performances were similar on the high-roughage diet. Dietary metabolizable energy contents were estimated to be 11.8 and 9.5 MJ kg-1 dry matter for the two diets, respectively. Liveweights were higher and more divergent between genotypes at the end of the high-concentrate feeding period. As they were also higher than those reported for mature animals maintained under traditional village management, it was concluded that indigenous Indonesian large ruminants would respond to improved feeding and management. However, their feedlot performances would be unlikely to equal that of dairy crossbred cattle.