Dry matter intake, dry matter digestibility and growth performance in goats fed grass-based diet (Brachiaria or Cenchrus) compared with a concentrate-based diet
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Date
2021-09
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Academic Journals
Abstract
Dry matter digestibility (DMD), dry matter intake (DMI) and growth performance of concentrate- and
forage-based diets were investigated using 24 growing Blended goats (12 males, 12 females) weighing
16.5±1.2 kg (mean±sd). Goats were blocked by sex and assigned randomly to three dietary treatments
that were fed for 10 weeks, after two weeks of adaptation. Dietary treatments were MRG (40% maize
bran, 40% rice bran, 20% Gliricidia leaf meal), BG (80% Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piatã, 20% Gliricidia leaf
meal) and CG (80% Cenchrus ciliaris, 20% Gliricidia leaf meal). All diets contained sufficient nutrients to
meet the requirements of growing goats. The MRG diet had lower DMI than CG, likely because MRG had
small particle size and goats adapted slowly to that diet. Average daily weight gain was 10.7, 9.9 and
22.8 g/day for MRG, BG, and CG respectively, and did not differ among the diets. Goats fed MRG had
lower overall live weight change than goats fed CG, while goats fed BG were intermediate. These
findings indicate that B. brizantha cv. Piatã and C. ciliaris are equally useful as supplementary
feedstuffs for growing goats during the dry season.
Description
Keywords
Cenchrus ciliaris, Gliricidia sepium, Brachiaria brizanthacv. Piatã, Maize bran, Rice polish, Gliricidia sepium