Feeding for Intensive Meat Production from Buffaloes | Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Feeding for Intensive Meat Production from Buffaloes

• In traditional buffalo meat production, animals graze with minimal supplementation.
• Intensive meat production involves confining animals to stalls and feeding them high-energy rations to achieve faster growth rates.
• In this system, weaned calves, around nine months old and weighing 100 kg, are fed high-energy diets until they reach 350 kg.
• This method differs from intensive beef production in the UK and USA, where the process includes calf procurement, rearing, finishing, and marketing stages.

Intensive Beef Production in Cattle in the UK and USA:

• Calf procurement involves acquiring calves from dairy herds between 3 and 7 days old.
• Calves are then transferred to rearers who care for them until they are weaned off liquid food and transitioned to ad lib concentrates.
• The finishing stage includes raising calves on ad lib concentrates, mainly grains supplemented with protein and minerals, until they reach a market weight of about 400 kg in approximately a year.

Farming Practices in India:

• Indian farmers typically maintain 2 to 3 buffalo animals.
• Buffalo calves are not weaned and stay with the dams until they are no longer lactating.
• Male buffalo calves are sold to livestock agents, who then sell them in large cattle markets near major cities.
• Male buffalo calves can be fed high-energy rations for meat production, creating a profitable market. This practice is also common in other Asian countries.

Technological Properties and Effects on Feed and Animals:

• Various technological properties, including corrosiveness, odor, physical form (crystalline or liquid), and acid strength, affect feed and animal health.
• Butyric acid added to milk and citric acid in milk replacers have been shown to accelerate the development of rumen in preruminant calves.
• This leads to improved digestion and growth in young calves.