Effect of supplementation of micronutrients of the performance of dairy cows

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of micronutrients supplementation on body weight of cows, birth weight of calf, colostrums composition, milk yield and milk composition. Six animals were divided in to two groups viz. control and supplemented group. Control group was provided conventional diet and supplemented group was supplied conventional diet plus vitamin-mineral mixture (1g vitamix powder/1kg concentrate feed) respectively for two months before calving. In supplemented group the average daily gain of the cows was (49.17 g/d) higher (P<0.01) and the calves were 2 kg heavier in supplemented group compared to control group. Fat content and protein content of colostrum in supplemented group were also significantly higher (P<0.01 and 0.05). The milk yield, fat and protein values of milk were increased non-significantly by 1.03 kg/d/h, 2.8 g/kg and 0.3 g/kg respectively. Ca content of milk was more or less similar in both cases. Key words: Milk; Milk protein; Milk fat; Micronutrients; Supplementation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v39i1-2.9688 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2010, 39(1&2): 151-155