Abstract:
A COMPARISON OF THE DIGESTIVE EFFICIENCY OF THE WATER BUFFALO AND BRAHMAN AND BANTENG CATTLE Donna C. APPLETON*+, G. DRYDEN+ AND A.C. KONDOS+ There is some evidence that buffalo are able to digest roughage more efficiently than cattle but the evidence is inconclusive (see Chalmers 1974). Little information is available for the Banteng, although Copland (1974) suggests that they are also more efficient. Two 2 to 3 yr old Brahman bulls, two 8 yr old Banteng steers and two 8 yr old water buffalo steers were fed a chaffed lucerne hay cut at early bloom and then a chaffed mixed mature Rhodes grass-blue grass hay with 20% added lucerne hay. A two week precollection period'was allowed for each diet. The two diets were fed at the same rate of dry matter (DM) intake and an energy intake adequate for maintenance was achieved by feeding the first hay tested (lucerne) - lib and feeding the second (Rhodes ad grass) at the same rate (Table 1). The intake of the Rhodes grass hay was close to an ad lib level. Faecal samples were obtained by grab sampling from the rec=m? 4 h intervals for 6 d with the lucerne hay and at 12 h intervals for 6 d with the Rhodes grass hay. Faecal samples were bulked on a DM basis and these and the feed were analysed for dry matter (DM), and for chromogen (Lancaster and Bartrum 1954). All animals appeared to digest the lucerne hay DM with similar efficiency, but the buffalo appeared to digest Rhodes grass hay DM more efficiently than the cattle (Table 1). TABLE I Digestibility of the dry matter of Rhodes grass and lucerne hays By Brahman and Banteng cattle and water buffalo REFERENCES CHALMERS, Margaret I. (1974). In 'The Husbandry and Health of the Domestic Buffalo', ed. W. Ross Cockrill. (F.A.O.: Rome). COPLAND, R.S. (1974). Tropical Animal Health and Production, 6: 89. LANCASTER, R.J. and BARTRUM, Margaret P. (1954). New Zealand JFurnal of Science and Technology, 35A: 489. * Present Address: C.S.I.R.O. Div. TropicalAgronomy, Townsville + Dept. of Animal Industries, Queensland Agricultural College, Lawes. 7P
