Using coniferous - energy additive in feeding dairy calves in the Krasnoyarsk region

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of a coniferous energy supplement on the growth, development and physiological state of suckling calves. The scientific and economic experiment was conducted in the conditions of the Mikhailovskoye Federal State Unitary Enterprise in the Uzhur District of the Krasnoyarsk Region. The coniferous energy feed supplement is a homogeneous viscous, pasty mass with a coniferous smell, consisting of 50 % glycerin and 50 % of a product made from wood greenery in an environmentally friendly way (certificate of conformity № ROSS RU. AM 05.H 04412). For the experiment, two groups of three-month-old calves, 15 heads in each, were formed using the pair-analogue method. The calves of the first (control) group were on a farm ration (alfalfa hay, crushed oats, barley bran, salt lick, feed chalk) with daily milk feeding in the amount of 6 liters. The calves of the second (experimental) group in addition to the main ration received coniferous concentrate at the rate of 50 g per head per day. The experiment was carried out according to the established zootechnical rules and standards in two periods: preparatory (5 days) and final (92 days). The gross gain in three months (from 3 to 6 months) after the introduction of the coniferous energy supplement (CES) into the ration increased in the young animals of the experimental group by 12.5 kg, the average daily gain in live weight and the growth factor - by 7.2 and 0.4 %, respectively, compared to the control. The results of blood tests showed that in the experimental group of calves the hemoglobin level was higher by 5.4 %; glucose - by 2.5; calcium - by 21.4; phosphorus - by 23.2 %, which indicates an increase in metabolic processes as a result of feeding the coniferous energy supplement at a dose of 50 g per day per head.