Development and Testing of Complete Nutrient Diet (CND) for Growing and Dairy Buffalo
Complete nutrient diet (CND) is the feed ration developed to meet the nutrient requirement of an animal for its growth and production purposes (meat or dairy). The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) developed CND with minimal supplementation of concentrates to extend the energy, minerals, and proteins for growing and lactating animals to meet the average daily gain (ADG) and milk yield.
In the national impact zone (NIZ), Nueva Ecija, growing buffalos fed with CND showed a significant increase in ADG of 0.116 kg and reduction in feed cost of Php 43.09 per kilogram gain in weight. Hence, at 120 days of feeding using CND, a farmer can save Php 13, 770.00 in feed cost to grow a buffalo.
Increase in milk produced from 4.49 kg/day to 6.0 kg/day, equates to Php 6,894,370.00 total income from 284 days of lactation using 60 dairy buffaloes fed with CND. A buffalo farmer can save Php 9.25 on feed cost in order to produce a kilogram of milk.
The development of CND for buffalos meets the daily nutrient requirement, improves the production capability of the animal, reduces feed cost, and provides income plus savings to the farmers in terms of milk yield.