WATER TURN OVER IN JERSEYA ND CROSSBREDS OF JERSEY X LOCAL INDIAN DAIRY CATTLE IN SHADE

MOHAMAD AZIZDOLLAH

SUMMAR

An experiment was conducted to determine water turn over in purebred Jersey and Jersey crosses (Jersey x Local Indian Dairy cattle: Jersey-LID) heifen kept under the shade to study their adaptation to Malaysian climate. Tritiated water was injected intramusculary to determine the water turnover. Water turnover of purebred Jersey (263 ml/kg^0.82/day) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than Jersey-LID crosses(222 ml/kg^0.82/day)while the half life of former (5.71days) was shorter( p<0.01)t han the later (6.77 days). Dry matter intake, however was not significantly different (P>0.05) between Jersey (5.50 kg,/day) and Jersey-LID (5.88 kg/day). The results of the experiment indicate that the purebred Jersey kept under the shade had higher heat load than its crossbred (Jersey-LID). However, the purebred Jersey was capable of maintaining its heat balance.

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