Browsing by Author "Balan, C"
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ArticleItem Open Access Comparative Evaluation of Lactation Curves of Crossbred Dairy Cows in Field Conditions in Tamil Nadu, India(2021) Balan, C; Thirunavukkarasu, M; TANUVASBackground: Various mathematical models have been tried by different researchers to fit the lactation curves in indigenous, exotic and crossbred cows maintained in organised farms only. Hence, this study was aimed to fit various lactation models and to identify the best fit model (s) for prediction of milk production in crossbred dairy cows in field conditions. Methods: Multistage random sampling procedure was used for selection of 100 dairy cows for the purpose of data collection. The monthly milk yield data (up to 10 months of lactation) of the selected crossbred cows reared in field conditions of Tamil Nadu State, relating to the period from 2017-20, were collected for lactation curve modelling. The milk data so collected were used to fit 14 lactation curve models in the study. The highest Coefficient of Determination (R²) value and the least Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value were used as the criteria to select the best fit model(s). Result: The overall average total milk production was estimated to be 2223.19 kg per lactation in 10 months of lactation in the selected crossbred cows. Average daily milk yield at the first month of lactation was 9.16 kg and the highest daily milk yield of 9.56 kg was observed at the second month of lactation. At the end of the lactation, the lowest yield was 5.01 kg per day and hence the overall average daily milk yield was found to be 7.41 kg. Based on the selection criteria, the Mitscherlich X Exponential model was identified as the best fit model, followed by Ali and Schaeffer and Morant and Gnanasakthy model for prediction of milk production in crossbred dairy cows reared in field conditions and the estimated lactation curve model parameters a, b, c and d values for the best fit model were 331.71, 1519.82, 9.56 and 0.07 kg, respectively.ArticleItem Open Access Effect of feeding swill feed supplemeted with chocolate cream waste on backfat thickness and body measurements in fattener weaner pigs(2019) Divyalakshmi, D; Kumaravelu, N; Balan, C; Tamil Vanan, Thanga.; Tensingh Gnanaraj, P; TANUVASPig rearing on concentrate feed may not be economical because of higher market price of raw materials. The alternative source could be the use of swill feeding. Consequently, the impact of the swill feed on the backfat thickness and body measurements calls for investi-gation against any other alternative feed. Hence in the present study, an attempt has been made to compare the body measurements and backfat thickness in fattener piglets which were fed with swill feed (T1) vs. Those fed with chocolate cream waste supple-mented with swill feed (T2). The statistical analysis of the data obtained in the present study revealed that there was highly significant (P≤0.01) difference between body weight gain and backfat thickness (layer I and II) of both the group of piglets which were taken for trial starting from three months of age till five months of age. However, not significant difference (P≥0.05) was noticed for body length and chest girth except in the pigs of 150 days age group. This study indicates that swill feed supplemented with chocolate cream waste could be used to reduce the feed cost since higher weight gain is achieved in a shorter time interval, increasing body measurements and backfat thickness compared to swill feed (T1) group of piglets.ArticleItem Open Access Gross morphometric findings of udder and teat in madras red ewes(2020-03) Senthilkumar, S; Kannan, TA; Gnanadevi, R; Ramesh, Geetha; Balan, C; TANUVASThe objective of the present study was to assess the morphology and morphometric measurements in lactating and non-lactating (n=15 each) Madras Red ewes. In both the groups, udder was located in the inguinal region. It consisted of two mammary glands (right and left halves) divided by an intermammary groove and each had a single teat. In Madras Red ewes, udder circumference (UC) and inter-teat distance (ITD) showed statistically significant difference between lactating and non-lactating ewes. Udder length (UL), width of right (R-UW) and left (L-UW) quarter, udder thickness (UT), Right and left teat length (TL), teat diameter at base (TDB), teat diameter at tip (TDT), teat to floor distance (TFD), teat end to floor distance (TEFD) does not shown any statistical difference between lactating and non-lactating animals.PresentationItem Open Access Growth curve analysis in Mecheri sheep(2020-02) Balan, C; Kathiravan, G; Thirunavakkarasu, M; Jeichitra, V; TANUVASLivestock keeping is an important avocation for the poor in the developing world, especially in India, contributing to rural livelihood and offering pathways to come out of poverty. Among the livestock, the sheep is an economically important species contributing greatly to the Indian agrarian economy, playing a vital role for the livelihood of a large number of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers. In addition to meat and wool, manure from sheep is an important source of organic fertilizer, especially in southern states where they are penned on fallow lands for increasing soil fertility. Mecheri sheep are one of the recognized breeds of sheep in Tamil Nadu and reared mainly for meat with the primary by-product as skin. They constitute 24.28 per cent of total sheep population of Tamil Nadu.Data on growth traits of Mecheri lambs born between the years 1991 and 2014 in Mecheri Sheep Research Station, Pottaneri were utilized for this study. The overall least-squares means (± S.E.) of body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age were 2.37 (± 0.008), 9.61 (± 0.062), 12.56 (± 0.071), 15.32 (± 0.085) and 17.87 (± 0.102) kg, respectively. Lambs born during the months of July-September had the highest (2.44±0.018 kg) birth weight and the least birth weight (2.14 ± 0.014 kg) was found among lambs born during the months January-March. Similarly, lambs born during the periods July-September and January-March had the highest (10.06 ± 0.127 kg) and least (7.74 ± 0.099 kg) weaning weights, respectively. Also, the highest yearling weight (18.70 ± 0.216 kg) was found in lambs born during the months July-September and the least weight (16.48 ± 0.177) was found during the months January- March. The overall least-squares means of Absolute Growth Rate (g/day) measures over the age intervals of birth to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, 6 to 9 months and 9 to 12 months were 79.97 ± 0.56, 40.01 ± 0.44, 33.73 ± 0.46 and 31.34 ± 0.86, respectively. Among non-linear growth models fitted to evaluate growth pattern, the Brody function was found to be the best fitted model in describing the growth curve patterns of both ram and ewe lambs of Mecheri sheep, which was followed by Von Bertlanffy, Gompertz, Logistic and Richards models in the order of the goodness of fit. The predicted body weights through Brody model at birth, 3, 6, 9 and12 months of age were 2.57, 8.92, 13.03, 15.70 and 17.50 kg, respectively in Mecheri sheep. The study showed that the Brody function adequately fitted the growth rate of Mecheri sheep, which is a medium sized breed with moderate growth. Further, Influences of environmental factor such as months of lambing and sex of the lambs born were well captured by the Brody model.ArticleItem Open Access Housing management practices of dairy buffaloes in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu(2020) Divyalakshmi, D; Kumaravelu, N; Balan, C; TANUVASA study was carried out to assess the housing management practices of buffaloes in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. A total of 60 buffalo units were interviewed by oral appraisal and observation. The study revealed that 88.7 per cent of farmers housed buffaloes in pucca shed with 80.19 percent floored with cement concrete, 22.3 per cent of the farmers followed dried Vitex Negundo leaf fumigation once in a week, majority of the sheds possessed aluminium tin roofing. But none of the farmers followed proper manure management. The study suggested that capacity building among the farmers would aid in better management leading to considerable monetary sustenance.ArticleItem Open Access SMALL RUMINANT POPULATION IN INDIA – A FORECAST FOR THE FUTURE(2021-04) Arya, S. Nair; Thirunavukkarasu, M; Serma Saravana Pandian, A; Senthilkumar, G; Balan, C; TANUVASSmall ruminants continue to assure subsistence by ensuring reasonable livelihood to resource poor farmers of rural India, even when the monsoon fails. A study was made to forecast the small ruminants population in the future by taking into account their past and present growth trends. Data on small ruminants population from 1950-51 to 2016-17 were collected from various reports of Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics (BAHS). Time series forecasting models were employed to identify the growth patterns and to predict the future trends in small ruminants population. Different forecasting models were compared to identify the best fit model using different criteria. From the results, it could be discerned that the Brown Exponential Smoothing model was the best fit model for forecasting sheep population and the forecasted sheep population for the years 2020-21, 2030-31, 2040-41 and 2050-51 which were 65.774, 72.673, 79.572 and 85.782 million, respectively., The sheep population would continue to exhibit positive growth in the future, due to the increasing demand for mutton owing to the increasing per capita incomes and rapid urbanisation. ARIMA (1,1,0) model was found to be the best fit model for forecasting goat population and the forecasted goat population were 139.812, 153.155, 166.401 and 178.321 million during 2020-21, 2030-31, 2040-41 and 2050-51, respectively, which showed that goats will continue to multiply faster due to high market demand.ArticleItem Open Access Statistical analysis of growth performance in Mecheri Breed of Sheep(2017) Balan, C; Kathiravan, G; Thirunavakkarasu, M; Jeichitra, V; TANUVASStatistical analysis of growth performance in Mecheri sheep was carried out using age-wise body weight data of Mecheri lambs maintained at Mecheri Sheep Research Station, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pottaneri. The overall least-squares means (±S.E.) of body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age were 2.37±0.008, 9.61±0.062, 12.56±0.071, 15.32±0.085 and 17.87±0.102 kg, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed the effect of period and season of lambing had highest significant (P≤0.01) difference on body weight in Mecheri sheep. The results indicated that the lambs born during the season-2 and period-6 had the highest growth performance in all the age groups. Similarly, the minimum weights were noticed period-2 and season 1 of lambing. The results also revealed that male lambs had higher body weight than females at all ages except birth weight.