Impact of urea-molasses treated wheat straw levels in total mixed rations on growth and nutrient digestibility in Azikheli buffalo calves

This study investigates the impact of urea molasses-treated wheat straw on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in Azikheli buffalo male calves. A longitudinal experiment was conducted on sixteen calves, randomly assigned to four experimental dietary treatments (n = 4 per group). The experimental diets included a control group (U0) with untreated wheat straw and three groups where urea molasses-treated wheat straw replaced 33% (U33), 66% (U66), or 100% (U100) of the straw in the total mixed ration. Results indicated that increasing the proportion of urea-treated wheat straw from 0 to 100% led to significant improvements in dry matter intake (from 2931 to 4034 g/day) and organic matter intake (from 2596 to 3623 g/day). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and crude fiber also followed an increasing trend, reaching 77.42%, 81.21%, 87.10%, and 60.22%, respectively, at the highest urea-treated wheat straw level. Furthermore, weight gain was significantly greater in calves fed 100% urea-treated wheat straw, followed by those in the U66, U33, and U0 groups. Feed conversion efficiency improved substantially in the U100 and U66 groups than U33 and U0. These findings suggest that incorporating higher levels of UMTWS in total mixed rations enhances nutrient digestibility, promoting superior growth performance and feed efficiency in Azikheli buffalo calves.