Italian Journal of Animal Science (Feb 2010)

Effect of intensive or extensive systems on buffalo heifers performances: blood metabolite values

  • A. Borghese,
  • M. Razzano,
  • M. Mazzi,
  • M.G. d’Elisi,
  • S. Allegrini,
  • G.M. Terzano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.1268
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 2s
pp. 1268 – 1272

Abstract

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Blood nutritional indicators were measured on twenty-six prepubertal 8- mo-old buffalo heifers, weighing a mean of 134 kg to determine the effect of different feeding and management systems. Animals were randomly assigned to an intensive feeding (n=13; IF group) or to a pasture system plus hay (n=13; PS group), according to weight and age. Measurements of live weight and blood collection began on day 0 (=date of onset of trial).The heifers were weighed monthly, up to puberty, to evaluate the growth rate and blood samples were withdrawn every three months to assay the concentrations of blood metabolites. Significantly higher (P0.05).

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