Influence of suckling traits on early life performance of surti buffalo calve

Abstract

Suckling behaviour in neonatal calves varies considerably among individuals and plays an important role in early growth and development. To characterise key suckling traits and assess their influence on the growth performance of newborn calves, a study was carried out on the suckling behaviour of 18 newborn Surti buffalo calves maintained at the Livestock Research Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. Male calves required more time to initiate their first suckling (81.22±.97 min) compared with female calves (75.22±.87 min). The higher activity scores observed in male calves may indicate comparatively superior health and vigour. Female calves exhibited a significantly longer teat-holding duration (210.00±15.71 sec) relative to male calves (180.47±14.23 sec). In the present study overall number of strokes required by female were significantly (p