Gvn. Reddy et Mr. Reddy, Utilization of expander-extruder processed complete diet containing sorghum straw in Ongole bull calves, I J ANIM SC, 69(1), 1999, pp. 49-50
Expander-extruder processed sorghum-straw-based complete diet, correspondin
g mash diet and a conventional diet (containing concentrate mixture and cho
pped sorghum-straw) were evaluated in is Ongole bull calves (6 in each grou
p). DML/100 kg body weight and water intake/kg DMI were similar on all the
diets. Digestibilities of DM, OM and CP were significantly (P<0.01) higher
on pelleted diet compared to other 2 diets while mash diet recorded higher
digestibilities of these nutrients compared to conventional diet. NFE diges
tibility was significantly (P<0.05) higher on pelleted diet compared to con
ventional diet. Expander-extruder processing increased the DCP (P<0.01) and
TDN (P<0.05) contents of the diet. These results indicated that blending o
f concentrates and roughages into complete diet was beneficial and that pro
cessing the mash using expander-extruder markedly improved the nutritive va
lue.