Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T12:14:02.450Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison between Friesians and water buffaloes in growth rate, milk production and some blood constituents, during winter and summer conditions of Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

K. A. El-Masry  and
I. F. M. Marai
K. A. El-Masry
Affiliation:
Department of Radiobiology, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
I. F. M. Marai
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
Get access

Abstract

Twenty Friesian (group 1) and 20 buffalo (group 2) calves and 14 of each of lactating Friesians (group 3) and lactating buffaloes (group 4) were maintained in middle of winter conditions of Egypt for 2 months. The calves (groups 1 and 2) were of similar age (6 to 7 months) and average body weight (120 kg). The lactating animals were in the fifth season of lactation, non-pregnant, in mid lactation and yielded 12 to 14 kg milk on average daily. Similar groups of animals of the same types (groups 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively), numbers, live body weights and physiological status were maintained under hot summer conditions for 2 months. The effect of hyperthermia during summer season on Friesians and buffaloes compared with winter was also studied.

The results showed that buffaloes were more tolerant than Friesians to the environmental conditions of Egypt. In winter, buffalo calves had poorer (P < 0·05) food efficiencies (kg gain per MJ net energy), higher dry matter intakes (DMI, P < 0·05) and total lipids in the plasma (P < 0·01) than Friesians, while the contrary occurred in total proteins, albumin, phospholipids and cholesterol (P < 0·05). In summer, growth rate and the concentrations of total lipids, phospholipids and cholesterol in the plasma were higher (P < 0·01), and total proteins and albumin were lower (P< 0·01) in buffalo than in Friesian calves. In summer, in Friesians, both DMI and growth rate decreased (P < 0·05) and food efficiency as kg weight gain per MJ net energy was poorer (P < 0·05). In the plasma total proteins and albumin increased (P < 0·01) but haematocrit %, phospholipids and cholesterol decreased (P < 0·05). In buffalo calves, only total proteins and albumin increased (P < 0·01) due to heat stress.

In lactating buffaloes, food efficiency was poorer (P < 0·01) and DMI and plasma haematocrit % were significantly higher, while the concentrations of total proteins, globulin, phospholipids and cholesterol in the plasma, and milk yield were significantly lower than in lactating Friesians in the winter season. Lactating buffaloes were poorer (P < 0·01) in food efficiency and had lower concentrations of total proteins, globulin and cholesterol than lactating Friesians in the summer (P < 0·01).

Keywords

Friesianbuffaloesgrowthmilk yieldblood composition
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , August 1991 , pp. 39 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1980. Official methods of analysis. 13th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Colditz, P. J. and Kellaway, R. C. 1972. The effects of diet and heat stress on feed intake, growth, and nitrogen metabolism in Friesian, Fl Brahman × Friesian, and Brahman heifers. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23: 717–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Belely, M. S., Abou-Ahmed, M. M., Ismail, S. T. and Grunert, E. 1985. The relationship of some plasma constituents of Egyptian buffaloes to pregnancy, age, milk yield and season. Proceeding of first world buffalo congress, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 4, pp. 994–1002.Google Scholar
El Fouly, H. A. and Kamal, T. H. 1979. Effect of short-term heat exposure on urinary allantoin-N in Friesian calves. World Review of Animal Production 15: (2), 61–64.Google Scholar
Ellefson, R. D. and Caraway, W. T. 1982. Lipids and lipoproteins. In Fundamentals of clinical chemistry (ed. Tietz, N. W.), p. 474. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
El-Nemr, I. Z., Shalash, M. R., Hassan, S. G., Younis, A. A. and Ewy, Z. 1985. Role of age and season on serum mineral profile in Egyptian buffaloes. Proceeding of first world buffalo congress, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 2, pp. 458–466.Google Scholar
Fuquay, J. W. 1981. Heat stress as it affects animal production. Journal of Animal Science 52:164–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, S. A., Jenkins, S. J. and Clark, P. A. 1982. A comparison of chemical and electrophoretic method of serum protein determinations in clinically normal domestic animals. Cornell Veterinarian 72: 416–421.Google ScholarPubMed
Kamal, T. H. and Seif, S. M. 1969. Effect of natural and controlled climates of the Sahara on virtual tritium space in Friesians and water buffaloes. Journal of Dairy Science 52: 1657–1663.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrison, S. R. and Lofgreen, G. P. 1979. Beef cattle response to air temperature. Transactions of American Society of Agricultural Engineers. 22: 861–868.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowlands, G. J., Little, W., Manston, R. and Dem, S. M. 1974. The effect of season on the composition of the blood of lactating and non-lactating cows as revealed from repeated metabolic profile tests on 24 dairy herds. Journal of Agriculture Science, Cambridge 83: 27–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snedecor, C. W. and Cochran, W. G. 1982. Statistical methods. 7th ed. Iowa University Press, Ames, Ia.Google Scholar
Tietz, N. W. 1982. In Fundamentals of clinical chemistry (ed. Norbert, W. T.), pp. 413–453. Saunders Company, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Wilding, P. and Kennedy, J. H. 1978. Manual of routine methods in clinical chemistry for use in intermediate laboratories. World Health Organization, LAB/781.Google Scholar