Rumen Fermentation Patterns in Rathi Calves Fed Complete Feed Supplemented with Herbal Feed Additives

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementation of herbal feed additives in complete feed on rumen fermentation patterns in Rathi calves. For this, sixteen experimental Rathi calves of almost same age group (12-18 months) and of uniform conformation were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments viz., complete feed containing R:C ratio of 60:40 (T1), T1 supplemented with Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) at 3% level of feed (T2), T1 supplemented with Reetha (Sapindus mukorossi) at 3% level of feed (T3) and T1 supplemented with Ashwagandha & Reetha (1:1) at 3% level of feed (T4). Rumen liquor from calves was collected by stomach tube at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 18 h post-feeding and was analyzed. This experiment revealed that rumen pH values were highest at 18 h and were declined to minimum by 4 h post-feeding, while total protozoal count, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and nitrogen (N) fractions reached to peak at 4 h post-feeding and later followed a decreasing trend in all the treatments. Supplementation of herbal feed additives had no effect (P>0.05) on rumen pH, while it influenced to increase (P