APPLICATION OF PEAT HUMIC SUBSTANCE IN FEEDING YOUNG CATTLE

M. F. Kobtsev

In the available literature we were unable to find works devoted to the study of the use of peat humates in feeding cattle.

Among foreign sources, the experiments of Polish scientists—Professor S. Tolpa and V. Cheżewski—deserve attention; in these experiments it was established that certain peat fractions have a favorable effect on the growth and development of calves.

For example, when peat fractions were fed to calves aged 1–2 months at 10–12 g per head per day, an increase in daily weight gains was observed in the calves compared with the control.

In order to study the effectiveness of using peat humates as growth stimulants for animals, we conducted a series of scientific-production experiments at the educational-experimental farm of the Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute, supplemented by biological and physiological studies.

The experiments were carried out with the participation of the assistant of the Department of Large Animal Husbandry and Dairy Production Z. I. Dokuchaeva, the senior laboratory assistant of the department V. I. Sukhanova, and the laboratory assistant of the peat laboratory N. F. Shtengauer.

The first experiment was conducted from January 20 to April 30, 1964. For the experiment, two groups of black-and-white calves aged 5 months were formed, with 16 head in each group.

The experiment was divided into two periods: a preparatory period of 30 days and an experimental period of 70 days. Animals of both groups were assigned identical rations consisting of corn silage, a mixture of concentrates, sugar beet, hay, natural grasses, and mineral supplement.

The total nutritive value of the average daily ration was: in the preparatory period, 3.43; in the experimental period, 3.82 feed units. Per one feed unit in the ration there were, respectively, 94 and 103 g of digestible protein.

The peat humic substance was included in the ration of the animals of the first group at the beginning of the experimental period in the form of a 1% solution containing 12.5% dry matter.

During the first 10 days the animals received 50 ml together with drinking water; then the norm was increased to 100 ml, and in the last month of the experiment the silage was sprinkled with humic solution at the rate of 200 ml per head per day.

The indicators of the effectiveness of applying peat humic substance were: increased weight gain, state of health, appetite, assimilation, and payment for feed by the animals’ weight gains.

Hematological studies were carried out at the end of the preparatory and experimental periods. Feed consumption was recorded by weighing the feed allocated and the leftovers once a week.

On the days when feed was recorded, the temperature and humidity of the air in the calf barn were measured.

The experimental animals were weighed once a month before the morning feeding.

The humic substance was prepared in the peat research laboratory headed by Associate Professor V. S. Boiko.

The weighing results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Dynamics of the live weight of the experimental animals

During the experimental period, the average live weight of the animals of the first group increased by 47.9 kg, or by 37.5%; that of the animals of the second group, by 42.4 kg, or by 35.2%. The average daily gains were also different and amounted, respectively: in March to 613 and 620, and in April to 713 and 596 g.

When the humic substance was given with drinking water at 50 ml in February and 100 ml in March, no increase in gains was observed. When the rate of humic substance was raised to 200 ml per head per day and the method of feeding was changed—the silage and concentrates were sprinkled with the solution—a noticeable increase in gains was observed in the animals of the experimental group in comparison with the control.

On the basis of feed records, payment for feed by gains was determined. Per 1 kg of gain, the animals of the first group, which received 200 ml of humic substance per head per day, consumed 5.31 feed units; the animals of the second group consumed 6.33 feed units, or 19.2% more.

Some change was noted in the clinical indicators of the animals that received the humic substance.

For example, the number of respirations per minute was 26.4, and the pulse rate was 76.7; in the animals of the second group, respectively, 23.7 and 81.2.

No substantial difference between the groups was found in the blood-test indicators.

A certain increase in reserve alkalinity in the blood of the animals that received the humic substance, compared with the initial data, is insignificant and does not provide grounds for drawing any conclusion.

Overall, the results of the blood study, like the clinical indicators, characterize the normal physical condition of the animals.

On the basis of the experiment conducted, it may be considered that:

1. Giving the humic substance with drinking water at 50 and 100 ml per head per day had no positive effect on the gains of the animals.

2. Increasing the rate of humic substance to 200 ml per head per day and changing the method of feeding—the silage and ... were sprinkled with the solution—

concentrates) increased appetite and weight gains and somewhat improved the physiological condition of the animals. The average daily gains in the young stock increased by 117 g, or by 19.6%.

Table 2

Hematological indices of the experimental animals

The second experiment was carried out from March 5 to June 1, 1965, with the aim of studying the effect of different rates of humic solution on the growth and development of calves at an earlier age. For the experiment, two groups of calves, 2 months of age, 15 head in each, were formed according to the principle of analogues. The experiment was divided into two periods: a preparatory period—16 days, and an experimental period—60 days. During the experimental period the calves of the first (“humic”) group consumed per day 3.57 l of skim milk, 0.63 kg of hay, 7.8 kg of silage, and 0.85 kg of concentrates.

The calves of the second (control) group ate 3.57 l of skim milk, 0.64 kg of hay, 7.2 kg of silage, and 0.85 kg of concentrates. In all, during the experimental period, the first group was fed 149.93 feed units and 19.87 kg of digestible protein; in the second group, respectively, 146.32 and 19.30 kg.

The calves were accustomed gradually to the feeding of the humic solution. In the first days 20 ml were included in the ration; from day 4 to day 6, 50 ml; and from day 7, 100 ml of solution per head per day. In the second half of the experimental period the rate of humic substance was increased to 150 ml per head per day. The calves were weighed before the start of the experiment and then at the end of each month. The animals were kept in the calf barn in group sections, and after completion of the experiment were transferred to the summer camp. The indices of calf gains are given in Table 3.

Table 3

Dynamics of the live weight of calves

During the experimental period the live weight of calves in the “humic” group increased by 42%, and in the control group by 36.4%. Thus, in the second experiment as well, an increase in gains in the animals was noted as a result of feeding the humic solution.

The higher gains were observed in the first month of the experiment, when the calves were given 100 ml of solution per day. Increasing the rate of humic solution in the second half of the experiment to 150 ml per day did not have a positive effect on the animals’ gains. Moreover,

there were cases in which the calves refused skim milk with the humic solution. Conversely, they readily drank skim milk in its pure form.

Consequently, for calves aged 2–3 months, the optimal daily norm of humic solution may be considered to be 100 ml.

Per 1 kg of weight gain, the calves of the “humic” group consumed 3.92 feed units in the first month of the experiment and 6.28 feed units in the second month. In the calves of the control group these figures were, respectively, 4.99 and 3.1 feed units.

In the subsequent months of the calves’ life, under identical feeding and housing conditions, the animals of the “humic” group surpassed the calves of the control group in live weight. For example, in July, two months after the experiment, the average live weight of the calves of the “humic” group was 133 kg, and that of the control group was 126 kg, whereas at the end of the experiment the live weight of the calves in both groups had been the same—105 kg.

This makes it possible to suppose that the humic substance of peat has a stimulating effect on the weight gains of animals not only during the period of feeding it, but also after it is removed from the ration.

The clinical indices obtained in the experiment characterize the normal physiological condition of the animals of both groups. In this experiment, certain blood indices were studied (Table 4).

Table 4

Hematological indices in calves

As can be seen from the table, the calcium content in the blood serum decreased in the animals of both groups over the period of the experiment.

However, in the calves of the control group this decrease was more considerable and amounted to 30.1%, as against 15.2% in the “humic” group. The phosphorus content in the blood, on the contrary, increased. In the “humic” group this increase amounted to 62.3%, and in the control group to 48%. On the basis of the data obtained it may be supposed that, when calves are given humic solution to drink, they assimilate the mineral substances of the feed better.

A somewhat higher content of hemoglobin and reserve alkalinity was observed in the blood of calves of the “humic” group. In general, the hematological indices in the animals of both groups showed no deviations from generally accepted norms.

The results of the second experiment make it possible to conclude:

1. Giving humic solution with skim milk at 100 ml per head per day had a positive effect on the growth of calves at 2–2.5 months of age. Increasing the norm of humic solution to 150 ml per head per day reduced the animals’ appetite and did not contribute to increased weight gains.

1. The humic substance of peat has a stimulating effect on the growth of animals not only during the feeding period, but also after it is excluded from the ration. This aftereffect of the humic substance was observed for two months.

2. Feeding humic substance promoted better assimilation of the mineral substances of the feed and had a favorable effect on the content of hemoglobin and reserve alkalinity in the blood of the animals.

The third experiment was designed to study the effect on animal gains of a one-percent alkaline solution with humic substance and a one-percent alkaline solution (NaOH) in pure form.

For the experiment, three groups of calves aged 1 month were formed according to the principle of analogues, 15 head in each group.

The first, “humic,” group received 100 ml of humic solution per head per day. The second, “alkaline,” group received 100 ml of alkaline solution. The third group served as the control. The calves were gradually accustomed to the feeding of humic and alkaline solutions over 5 days. The solutions were given with milk once a day. The animals were kept under identical conditions in a summer camp and received identical rations. The experiment lasted from July 1 to August 30, 1965. The first 12 days were preparatory, and the following 48 were experimental. The animals received per day 1.8 l of milk, 0.62 l of skim milk, and 0.78 kg of oatmeal. In addition, the calves had the use of natural pasture for 7 hours a day. There were no leftovers of milk, skim milk, or concentrates.

Thus, over 48 days the experimental animals (not counting pasture feed) were fed 47.6 feed units and 5.08 kg of digestible protein. As a result of the experiment, the following data were obtained (Table 5).

Table 5

Dynamics of the live weight of calves

The average daily gain in the “humic” group was 533 g, in the “alkaline” group—506, and in the control group 500 g. In absolute gains, the calves of the “humic” group exceeded the calves of the other groups by 27.33 g per day. In relative gain, the calves of the control group somewhat surpassed the animals of the two other groups.

Per 1 kg of gain, not counting pasture feed, the animals expended the following number of feed units: the first group—1.86, the second—1.96, the third—1.98.

Some clinical and hematological indicators obtained in the experiment did not deviate from the norms and characterize the normal physiological condition of the animals. The results of the third experiment made it possible to establish:

1. Feeding the humic substance of peat has a stimulating effect on the growth of calves aged 1–2 months. The animals expended 6.1% less feed per 1 kg of gain in comparison with the control.

1. When calves were given an alkaline solution to drink, there was a tendency toward increased weight gains compared with the control.

Summarizing the overall results of the experiments conducted, the following conclusions may be drawn:

1. The use of peat humic substance in feeding young cattle contributed to increased weight gains in the animals. When 200 ml of humic solution per head per day was fed to young animals aged 6–7 months, the animals’ weight gains increased by 117 g per day compared with the control.

Giving calves aged 2–2.5 months humic solution with skim milk or milk, at a rate of 100 ml per head per day, increased the calves’ weight gains by 133 g per day compared with the control.

1. The greatest effect from the use of humic substance in the form of a one-percent alkaline solution was obtained in older animals—6–7 months of age. By this time the animals’ digestive organs are sufficiently developed; they consume a large quantity of plant feeds, and the addition of humic solution had a favorable effect on the assimilation of the nutrients in the feed. The use of humic substance in the form of a one-percent alkaline solution for calves aged 1–2 months is less effective.

2. Feeding peat humic substance did not have a negative effect on the animals’ health. The clinical and hematological indicators obtained showed no deviations from the norms and characterized the normal physiological condition of the animals.

In the blood of animals that received humic substance, an increased content of hemoglobin, calcium, and phosphorus was observed.

1. The experiments conducted showed that the use of peat humates is most effective when the animals are well fed. When the feeding level of the young animals was reduced, the use of peat humates was less effective.