GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND FEED INTAKE OF BUFFALO HEIFERS UNDER DIFFERENT HOUSING SYSTEM DURING WINTER SEASON

The present study was carried out during winter season for a period of 126 days to see the effect of different housing system on the performance of eighteen buffalo heifers. The experimental animals were randomly divided into three treatment groups on the basis of their body weight viz T 1 (control): Loose House-House, T 2: Loose house + Curtain (Palli) and T 3 : Conventional closed barn house. There was non-significant effect of microclimate between treatments. The average daily body weight gain were 0.492 ± 0.029, 0.516 ± 0.030 and 0.540 ± 0.025 kg in T 1 , T 2 and T 3 , respectively indicated that there was no significant difference in body weight gain between treatments. However, the calves under T 2 and T 3 gain 5 and 9.8 per cent more weight as compared to calves of T 1 . The daily increase in body size was not significantly influenced by the treatments. The dry matter, digestible crude protein and total digestible nutrient intake were also not significantly influenced by the treatments, but the intake of these nutrients was 0.45, 0.095 and 0.81 kg more in T 2 as compared to T 1 .