Abstract:
ABSTRACT
The present experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of neem leaves on the performance of early
lactating cows feeding with straw-based traditional diet (rice straw, wheat straw and roadside grass etc.). For
this purpose, six lactating cows were selected based on early lactation and severity of infection in terms of
gastrointestinal nematode. In each cow, neem leaves were supplemented at the rate of 200 mg/kg live weight
of the animal along with the straw-based traditional diet. The selected animals were observed and data were
collected 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after treating with neem leaves. Feces were collected from the cows
weekly for the observation of parasites. From the findings, it was observed that the average egg per gram of
feces (EPG) was significantly (p<0.05) lowered after supplemented with neem leaves. The average body
weight and milk production of the lactating cows were significantly increased after treatment. The results
indicate that supplementation of neem leaves had a positive effect on the performance of lactating cows and
it can be used for better performance of lactating cows under village conditions where cows are reared on
straw-based traditional diet.
