Vol. 10, Special Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
K Archana, Suresh Rathod, A Sarat Chandra and G Alexander

Abstract:
A study was carried out to assess the effect of different flooring material on the body weight and biometry of the Sahiwal calves. Eighteen Sahiwal calves of either sex with average body weight of 110.41±7.62 kg and aged between 6 to 8 months were assigned randomly to three flooring types viz., Concrete floor (control, T1), Concrete bedded with straw floor (T2) and Concrete floor with rubber mats (black, rubber material, 8 mm thick (T3). The study was conducted from May 2018 to August 2018.Significant (P<0.05) difference was observed for the fortnightly body weights and average daily gain of the calves among three treatment groups. The average daily gain was comparable among the treatment groups. The overall fortnightly biometric measurements like body length, chest girth, the height at withers, poll length and Tail length of sahiwal calves increased linearly throughout the experimental period and showed non-significant (P>0.05) difference among the groups except for chest girth. It is concluded that among the flooring materials, rubber mats relatively improved the body weight and biometry of the sahiwal calves.