THE PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE CALVES FED LIMITED MILK AND 4 RATIONS AT MOBLISSA, GUYANA

The performance of calves reared for 21 weeks on four isocaloric rations were compared in a trial using a randomized complete block design. The four rations were compounded from rice bran, wheat middlings, fish meal and copra meal. The average pre-trial weight of the calves at four days of age was 30 kg and did not differ significantly among rations (P > 0.05). Milk was fed at an average of 3.5 kg per calf per day and the rations ad libitum. Calves were weaned when they achieved a live-weight of approximately 60 kg. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among the rations for the time that the calves required to attain this weight (averaging 11 weeks). There were also no significant differences (P > 0.05) in feed intake, which averaged 28.6 kg per calf up to weaning time. At the end of the trial (21 weeks) there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among the rations for the time (averaging 11 weeks) that the calves required to attain this weight. There were also no significant differences (P > 0.05) in feed intake, which averaged 28.6 kg per calf up to weaning time. At the end of the trial (21 weeks) there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among rations for liveweight gain, which averaged 465 g per calf per day. It was concluded that the rations gave acceptable performance and the choice of ration would depend on the availability and cost of the various ingredients.