Effects of Feeding High and Low Energy Levels during Late Pregnancy on Performance of Crossbred Dairy Cows and Their Calves

The present research was designed to evaluate the effects of pre and post-partum energy level and feeding pattern on the performance of crossbred dairy cows and their calves under farm conditions. A total of 16 crossbred dairy cows were divided into two equal groups on the basis of their body weight and milk production. One group was given 30% less and the another was given 30% more energy than MAFF’s (1984) recommendation. After calving all cows were given same ad.libitum diet to assess the effects of feeding during pregnancy on their performance. It was observed that just before calving cows on low energy group gained less (p<0.05) weight than that of the cows on high energy group (12.9±11.71 vs. 42.25±12.74 kg/cow. Birth weight of calves of low energy group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the calves of high energy group (17.87±1.78 vs. 20.73±2.24 kg/calf). Cows that were on low pre-calving dietary energy level produced less milk during lactation than the cows of high energy pre-calving group (3.45±0.75 vs. 4.27±0.79 lit./cow). No significant difference was noticed on calf growth rate and reproductive parameters of cow. Energy level that was 30 % less than MAFF’s (1984) recommendation was found to be very low and not suitable for our crossbred cows during their last three months of pregnancy. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2004. Vol 17, No. 7 : 947-953)