Effects of Qaxxee (Hermosa sidoides) and Dheekaa (Grewia tembensis) foliage supplementation on milk yield and milk quality of Somali goats fed a crop-residue-based diet

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine at the chemical content of Hermosa sidoides and Grewia tembensis feeds and their impact on milk output and quality in Somali goats. A completely randomized block design, excluding the control treatment, was adopted with three treatment diets. T1 (600 g Hermosa sidoides, 200 g concentrate mixture, maize stover), T2 (600 g Grewia tembensis, 200 g concentrate mixture, maize stover), and T3 (300 g Hermosa sidoides and 300 g Grewia tembensis, maize stover), were the treatments. Hermosa sidoides had a greater crude protein (CP) content (28.7%), 40% neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and 18% acid detergent fibre (ADF), while Grewia tembensis had a lower CP content (27.1%), 47% NDF, and 21.91% ADF. The daily milk production for goats fed treatment food T1 (0.91 kg) was substantially greater (p0.05) than goats fed T2 (0.82 kg) and T3 (0.84 kg) after 90 days of feeding experiments. In general, this study found that supplementing nursing Somali goats’ diets with Hermosa sidoides (Qaxxee) leaves (T1 Diet) considerably increases milk output and cost return. As a result, this study implies that goat feeds, which are often available in the study location, could be used as a suitable diet in the future.