Effect of concentration of cold acidified milk replacers, breed and rearing season on the performance of goat kids

Abstract

Fifty-three kids, born in two seasons, winter and summer, and belonging to two breeds, Saanen and Alpine, were fed diets based on cold acidified milk replacers offered ad libitum, at two concentrations, increasing (from 18 to 23% DM) and fixed (20.6% DM). In the first weeks of the trial, 12 animals were withdrawn because of pathological events in the gastrointestinal tract, mainly due to excess milk ingestion. These cases were observed mainly in the summer, due to higher water requirements during the warm season. Kids performance was not affected by milk concentration and gave satisfactory results. Average daily gain was approx. 200 g/d, dry matter intake 305 g/d, and warm and cold dressing percentages were 65 and 63%, respectively. Limbs and liver, lungs and trachea proportions in empty body weight and carcass length of kids fed a fixed milk concentration were higher ( P<0.05) than those of kids on increasing milk concentrations. In the cold season feed efficiency was better, especially at the end of the trial (1.96 vs. 1.54; P<0.01) and dressing percentages were slightly lower ( P<0.05) than those born in the summer. Alpine kids generally showed a greater adaptability to this rearing system than Saanen kids. In conclusion, the cold acidified milk replacer can be considered a suitable feed for kids. The adoption of a fixed milk concentration reduces labour costs without influencing kids performance. This technique seems to be more adequate during the cold season when kids have a low water intake.