Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Fenugreek Seed (Trigonella foenum) on Body Condition Score, Udder Health and Faecal Egg per Gram of Dairy Cows

Neha Rathore; Mukesh K. Mehta; Ravindra K. Jain; Ashok K. Patil

doi:10.21887/ijvsbt.17.3.18

Neha Rathore 4Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur (MP), India
Mukesh K. Mehta 4Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur (MP), India
Ravindra K. Jain 4Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur (MP), India
Ashok K. Patil 4Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Mhow, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur (MP), India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21887/ijvsbt.17.3.18

Keywords: Dairy cows, Fenugreek seed, Gastro-intestinal helminths, Milk pH, Somatic cell count, Udder health.

Abstract

The study was carried out to observe the effect of dietary supplementation of Fenugreek seed on body condition score (BCS), udder health, and faecal egg per gram (EPG) of dairy cows. Twelve multiparous lactating cows at an early stage of lactation were selected and randomly allotted into two groups (n=6) of six cows each. The animals in group-T0 were fed normal feed without fenugreek seeds and served as control. The animals in group-T1 were given ground fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum) @ 100 g/d/head for 90 days, in addition to the usual feed/fodder. The udder health, body condition score, and faecal egg count of gastro-intestinal helminths were recorded fortnightly for 90 days. The mean numerical value of BCS was higher (3.78 ± 0.06 vs. 3.60 ± 0.07), whereas milk pH (6.63 ± 0.02 vs. 6.81 ± 0.02), SCC (1.95 ± 0.07 vs. 2.37 ± 0.05 x105) and EPG (866.67 ± 21.40 vs. 964.29 ± 27.29) were non-significantly lower in treatment group as compared to the control group.