Effect of urea molasses multinutrient blocks (UMMB) supplementary feeding on therapeutic efficacy of hormonal treatment in anoestrus buffaloes

The present work was undertaken to study the reproductive performance of anoestrus buffaloes following urea molasses multinutrient block (UMMB) supplementary feeding and, the effect of UMMB pre-supplementation on therapeutic efficacy of hormonal treatment. Anoestrus buffaloes (30) were supplemented with UMMB for 30 days and 10 anoestrus buffaloes were kept as unsupplemented control. During experimental period of UMMB supplementation 40% buffaloes (12/30) exhibited behavioural oestrus compared to 10% (1/10) in control. On day 3 1, ten supplemented and 9 unsupplemented buffaloes which were still anoestrus were treated with 3 intramuscular injections of 750 mg hydroxyprogesterone at 72 hr interval followed by 750 IU PMSG intramuscularly on the last day of progesterone treatment. Progesterone-PMSG treatment induced oestrus between 72-96 hr in 80% of the UMMB supplemented buffaloes compared to 67% in unsupplemented control. The temporary decline in milk yield following the progesterone-PMSG treatment occurred in all buffaloes that experienced oestrus but it was lower (18%) in UMMB supplemented buffaloes than that in unsupplemented (40%) control. Overall pregnancy rate in buffaloes induced to oestrus with UMMB supplementation were 88%. However, none of the buffaloes induced to oestrus with PMSG conceived on induced oestrus but they exhibited regular ovarian cyclicity thereafter, and conceived on successive second or third oestrus. The overall conception rate was 87% with 2.4 services/conception in supplemented group (UMMB+PMSG) and 83% with 2.6 services/conception in unsupplemented (only PMSG) control. From the study it was concluded that a 30 day-UMMB supplementation induced oestrus in 40% summer anoestrus buffaloes and improved the oestrus response of buffaloes to progesterone-PMSG treatment in inducing oestrus and reduced the milk losses, which occurred as sequel to hormonal treatment by improving the nutritional status of buffaloes.