Energy consumption in calves when feeding mineral additives

Abstract

The experimental part of the work was carried out in the farm SPK Agrofirma “Kultura” in the Bryansk region, in order to study the effect of smectite tripoli on productivity and reduction in the consumption of exchange energy per unit of output. The article presents the results of the test performed on calves under the age of 4 months weighing 74.4-76.8 kg, the animals received different doses of mineral additives. During the record period that lasted for 62 days, the weight gain in the test groups were 921 and 885 g, in the control group - 828 g. The exchange energy costs per one kilogram of the gain were 10.1-6.6% lower in the test groups. Feeding mixture with smectite tripoli did not cause any significant changes in the biochemical blood indicators. However, the amount of total protein in the second test group was 5.8% higher, and 2.5% higher in the third group. Therefore, feeding 30 g of smectite tripoli had a positive effect on the increase in the average daily gain, the reduction in the consumption of exchange energy and the increase in the content of total protein in the calves’ blood.