Effect of energy and protein levels on nutrient utilization and their requirements in growing Murrah buffaloes.

To evaluate different levels of energy and protein for optimum growth of Murrah male buffalo calves, a growth trial (150 days) was conducted on 30 calves (body weight 202.5 ± 6.8 kg). Six diets were formulated to provide 90, 100 and 110% protein level and 90 and 110% energy level requirements for buffalo calves, derived from ICAR 2013 recommendations for buffaloes. The crude protein (CP) intake was increased with higher dietary CP, whereas no effect of energy levels or interaction between protein and energy was observed on CP intake. There were significant effects (P < 0.01) of the interaction between protein and energy (P < 0.05) on metabolizable energy (ME) intake. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and non-fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) was higher (P < 0.0001) in high-energy groups compared to low-energy groups. The CP digestibility increased with the increased CP and ME of the rations. The absorbed N was improved linearly with an increased level of dietary CP, whereas the N retention was similar among all the groups distributed as per different energy or protein levels. The nutrient intake (protein or energy) per kg body weight (BW)(0.75) at various fortnight intervals was regressed linearly from the average daily gain (ADG) per kg BW(0.75). By setting the average daily gain at zero in the developed regression equation, a maintenance requirement was obtained, i.e. 133.1 kcal ME, 6.45 g CP and 3.95 g metabolizable protein (MP) per kg BW(0.75). Requirement for growth was 6.12 kcal ME, 0.46 g CP and 0.32 g MP per kg BW(0.75) per day. Metabolizable amino acid requirement was estimated from partitioning of MP intake and ADG. The ME requirements were lower, whereas the MP requirement of Murrah buffaloes was higher than ICAR (2013) recommendations.