Abstract
BACKGROUND: A hydroponic feeding system enables more effective utilization of the entire plant than typical grazing, which only consumes the plant's shoot. AIM: This study evaluated the effects of feeding maize hydroponic fodder on growth performance, nitrogen balance, nutrient digestibility, hematology, and blood metabolites of buffalo calves. METHODS: Twelve water buffalo calves, weighing an average of 112 ± 1.18 kg and between 8 and 10 months old, were divided into three treatments, each with four calves. Each group received one of the treatment diets: T1: the basal diet (BD) at 100%; T2: the BD plus hydroponic feed meal (HFM) at 80%: 20%; and T3: the BD plus HFM at 60%: 40%. For 100 days, each animal was fed ad libitum; the first ten days were used for nutritional adaptation, and the final ten days were used for collection. In addition to their BD, each animal received 200 g/day of a normal concentrate mixture to meet their maintenance needs. The BD included Green Hay (Lucerne) 80% and Wheat straw 20%. Each animal's daily feed consumption was noted. Calves were weighed biweekly to track growth. Upon completion of the experiment, blood samples were obtained. RESULTS: The amount of dry matter (DM) consumed by ruminants fed diets, including hydroponic fodder, was considerably higher (p < 0.05). Similar trends were seen in crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber intake. Ingesting of CP was highest in animals fed T3. Animals fed diets comprising BD 60% + HFM 40% had the highest levels of DM and CP digestibility. Animals fed the T3 diet (BD 60% + HFM 40%) showed the best feed conversion values (p ˂ 0.05). Blood metabolites like blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and glucose showed non-significant variations in all experimental animals. In hematology, a similar trend was seen. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it can be said that supplementing the diet with more HFM helped growing buffalo calves gain weight, have a lower feed consumption ratio, and digest their food more efficiently.