SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY

UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SCIENCE
PRODDATUR

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL NUTRITION

ASSIGNMENT-1
TOPIC NAME : FEEDING OF GROWING FEMALE CALVES
(HEIFERS) FROM WEANING TO FIRST CALVING.

SUBMITTED TO. SUBMITTED BY.

DR.J.BALA KESAV REDDY. K. Mahesh reddy.
DR.C.PRAVEEN KUMAR. PV/2019-23
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE OF HEIFER NUTRITION

SITUATION IN OUR COUNTRY

DIFFERENT PHASES OF FEEDING HEIFER FROM

WEANING TO SIX MONTHS OF AGE FROM SIX
MONTHS TO BREEDING FEEDING THE PREGNANT
ANIMAL

BODY WEIGHT AND CALVING PROBLEMS

INTRODUCTION
HEIFER ; FEMALE CALF THAT HAS
WEANED AND NOT YET CALVED.
 • The level of nutrition influences onset of puberty in
cattle and buffalo.
• Proper feeding is necessary ,if heifers are to be
prepared to breed at right age.
• Inadequate diet during this growth period may
reduce production potential when they start
producing milk.
• Feeding heifers with green fodder ,make the animal
available for vit A.
• Feeding concentrate mixture deficient in energy,
phosphorous or vit A may delay the onset of puberty.
• So animals are supplied with mineral mixture and
common salt.

IMPORTANCE OF HEIFER NUTRITION

The way a heifer is fed is very important as it can affect:
1)Age at first service.
2)Ability to conceive.
3)Age at first calving.
4)Life time milk production.
5)Length of productive cycle.
 GROWTH RATE AND SEXUAL MATURITY
:
In general terms, if animal grows at a faster rate, it
will reach sexual maturity at early age. Puberty occurs at
a particular live weight rather than at a fixed age(heifers
may not reach to puberty before 18-20 months when
grow slowly @0.35kg/day , but puberty occurs as early as
possible if growth rate is 0.9kg/day or more than that.
Puberty occurs when body weight of heifers is in
between 45-50% of mature body weight. Breeding
should occur when they reach of 50-60% of mature body
weight. Growth rate should be sustained during the
pregnancy such that heifer’s weight 80-85% of mature
body weight at 1st calving, 90-95% at 2nd calving and 100%
in 3rd calving.

Puberty& 1st calving 2ndcalving 3rdcalving

breeding
45-50% 82% 92% 100%

% of mature body weight.

SITUATION IN OUR COUNTRY

 Under standard feeding and manage mental
practices the buffalo male calves attain puberty
about 18-24 months age when they attain 250300kg
body weight, where as female buffalo calves attain
puberty at 22-30 months age of 300-350 kg body
weight.
The cross bred heifers attain sexual maturity at 1824
months age on optimum feeding when they attain
250 kg(jersey) and 350 kg(HF) body weight.
The indigenous heifers become sexually mature at
150-250 kg body weight.
DIFFERENT PHASES OF FEEDING
HEIFER.
1.FEEDING FROM WEANING TO 6 MONTHS.
During this period calves will weigh 70-100 kg and
average gain in body weight at this age will be about 500-800
gr/day depending up on the nutrition of animal. From 3rd month
onwards the cultivated green forages can be given @ 2kg/day
raising quantity 5-6 kg /day in 6 months. Type 1 concentrate
mixture can be added @ 0.75kg,1kg &1.5kg per calf in 4th,5th,6 th
months respectively. The quantity of conc mix depend up on the
quality and quantity of forages fed.
Dry matter, CP and TDN requirements as per NRC 2001 standards.
Live No. ADG(gr) Avg Fresh green grass with Crop residue Conc mix with
weigh of expecte DM 2%CP,12.5%TDN(KG/D with 4% and 18%CP and
t day d intak ) 38%TDN(kg/d 65%TDN(kg/d
s e ) )
(kg/d)

70-80 20 500 2.4 4.0 1.25 375

80-90 20 500 2.6 4.25 1.30 400
90-100 20 500 2.8 4.50 1.40 425

FEEDING FROM 6 MONTHS TO BREEDING AGE.

During this period the growth rate of 400gr/day is quite
satisfactory for calves of SAHIWAL and THARPARKAR breeds. The
cross bred calves and GRADED MURRAH calves grow at the rate of
500-700gr/day. Assuming ADG 0.45 kg/day from 7th month to 24th
month 2kg conc mix with 16%DCP and 70%TDN and 15-20kg of
green fodder should be provided to each calf. A supplemental
conc mix may be given depending upon the quality of forages.
Most forage can be given in free choice . Normal growth can be
maintained by offering free choice quality hay or silage to heifers
on pastures.

Nutrient requirements of calves weighing between

100-300kg (NRC 2001)
Live weight (kg) DM(% OF BODY CP% TDN
WEIGHT)

100-150 3 16 62
150-200 2.75 14 62
200-250 2.50 12.5 62
250-300 2.40 11.5 62
 FEEDING OF PREGNANT HEIFER
Feeding of heifers during this phase effects the
lactation of heifers during the 1st lactation .

 During the last trimester 1.5 kg of conc mix with 14%CP and
70%TDN is supplied to meet demands of rapidly growing
fetus.
 Even after the conception the animal continue to grow
@300-500% depending on the nutrition.
 They should be fed additionally for few months to achieve
the mature body weight for successive normal reproductive
cycle at 3rd lactation.
 Delayed growth in 1st and 2nd lactations due to shortage of
dietary energy is often attributed to repeat breeding and
other reproductive disorders.
 Pregnant heifers are also fed 20%of maintenance CP and
TDN as extra allowance for their growth.
 Since green fodders are rich in vit A ,which is required for
maintenance of placental epithelium , they should be fed
plenty.
 Otherwise vit A is supplied by conc mix .
 Feeding of conc mix to heifers 2-3 weeks before calving to
adopt rumen microbes to conc mix is the sound nutritional
practice in certain countries.
 They should get free access to drinking water.

Body weight and calving problems

 These problems are more during 1st calving than any other ,it may be
due to developmental of fetus or animal.
May be due to underdeveloped heifer- narrow pelvic area relative to
size of calf.
Overweight of heifer and excessive adipose tissue obstruct with
normal calving.

SOURCE OF INFORMATIOM
 WWW.RESEARCHGATE.COM
 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF ANIMAL
NUTRITION BY D.V REDDY.
 CLASS NOTES.
 SLIDESSHARE .NET

Thank you