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Utilization of Full Fat Copra in Feeding Dairy Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.
Thesis Abstract:
Two studies were conducted to determine the effect of full fat copra supplementation on its nutrient digestibility and on the lactational performance of buffaloes. In study 1, nine buffaloes were distributed to three dietary treatments following a completely randomized design: treatment 1 (napier and concentrate), treatment 2 (napier and concentrate with 7.5% full fat copra), and treatment 3 (napier and concentrate with 15% full fat copra). The analyzed proximate of full fat copra on dry matter basis was as follows: 7.1 percent crude protein, 5.27 percent crude fiber, 70.8 percent crude fat, 1.73 percent ash, and 15.1 percent nitrogen-free extract.
The inclusion of full fat copra in the diets did not significantly affect the coefficient of digestibility (dry matter, protein, and energy), digestible protein, and digestible energy of the dietary treatments. The metabolizable energy on dry matter basis of full fat copra obtained by difference method was 2,972 kcal/kg and 2,948 kcal/kg for treatments 2 and 3, respectively.
In study 2, six lactating buffaloes were distributed to three dietary treaments in a Latin square design. The animals were fed napier grass soilage and brewer’s spent grain, and distributed to three dietary treatments with different level of full fat copra in the concentrate mixture: treatment 1 (napier grass and concentrate), treatment 2 (napier grass and concentrate with 7.5% full fat copra), and treatment 3 (napier grass and concentrate with 15% full fat copra). Inclusion of full fat copra in the concentrate mixture did not affect live weight gain, milk production, and milk composition of the lactating buffaloes. The average daily dry matter intake was higher (p < .05) when buffaloes were fed napier grass and concentrate with 7.5 percent full fat copra (15.6 kg) than when they were fed napier and concentrate (15.3 kg) or napier grass and concentrate with 15 percent full fat copra (14.4 kg).
Economic evaluation of the diets revealed that the cost per kilogram of concentrate mixture increased with the inclusion of full fat cropa. This was attributed to the price per kilogram of full fat copra, which was higher than the main ingrdients of the basal diet; namely, yellow, corn, rice bran D2, and copra meal.