Effect of Feeding Probiotic Feed Supplement on Yield and Composition of Milk in Crossbred Cows Phondba B.T.*, Kank V.D., Patil M.B., Gadegaonkar G.M., Jagadale S.D., Bade R.N. Department of Animal Nutrition, Bombay Veterinary College, Mumbai-400 012, India. *Reprint request: Dr. B.T. Phondba, Division of Dairy Cattle Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132 001, India, E-mail: bhupendra_vet@yahoo.co.in
Abstract A 91-days feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic feed supplement containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae on milk yield and its composition in crossbred cows. Eighteen crossbred cows (Gir X HF and Gir X Jersey) were randomly divided into three equal groups of six each on the basis of breed, average milk yield, stage of lactation and parity. All the three groups were fed on concentrate mixture of same composition which was supplemented with probiotic feed supplement @ 0 (Group I, control), 10 (Group II) and 20 (Group III) g/day/cow, respectively, containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (6x109 cfu/g probiotic feed supplement). The average milk yield in group II (9.90±0.54 kg) was significantly (P<0.05) higher as compared to groups I and III (9.42±0.41 and 9.35±0.50 kg). The average FCM yield in group II (8.76±0.41 kg) was significantly (P<0.01) higher than groups I and III. The total solids of milk differed significantly (P<0.01) with each other in all the groups. The milk fat in both treatment groups improved significantly (P<0.01) over control. Milk total ash in group II improved significantly (P<0.05) than groups I and III. It is concluded that supplementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae @ 6x1010 cfu/day in diet of dairy cows have positive influence on milk yield and its composition. Top Keywords Cows, Milk yield, Probiotic feed supplement, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Top |