Weight Gain Of Goats Research Articles

Berseem hay supplementation to improve productivity of Bundelkhandi goats in winter season

The study was conducted to determine the effect of berseem hay supplementation on the productive performances of goats in the winter season. About 20 Bundelkhandi male goats were selected and fed either on conventional feeding (control group, n = 10) and improved diet (treatment group, n = 10). The control group fed on conventional grazing (8 hours) + conc. mixture @ 1.0% of BW while the treatment group was fed on conventional grazing (8 hours) + conc. mixture @ 1.0% of BW + quality berseem hay (300 g/head/d). The Meteorological variables, feed intake, body weight, nutrient digestibility and physiological parameters (rectal temperature, head surface temp, pulse rate, respiration rate) were measured. The climatic variable suggested that during December and January month animals were under cold stress. There was no significant difference between groups for physiological parameters. However, during peak winter, rectal and head temperatures were recorded in the lower range in both groups during the evening. The body weight gain in goats fed with the treatment diet was significantly (p <0.05) higher as compared to the control group. It was concluded that the supplementation of berseem hay (300 g/h/d) in male Bundelkhandi goats resulted in improvement in protein (8.07 vs. 10.05, g/kg W0.75) intake with a positive impact on body weight gain without any significant effect on physiological parameters during the winter season.

Forage availability and weight gain of goats on caatinga enriched with Urochloa trichopus (Hochst.) Stapf subjected to fallowing and fertilized with phosphate

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage availability and performance of goats in thinned Caatinga enriched with Urochloa trichopus subjected to grazing fallowing and levels of phosphorus fertilization. Twenty-four F1 crossbred goats (Boer x Non-descript breed), whole, 15.0 ± 2.6 kg body weight were distributed in four paddocks (n = 6) according to body weight, age and physiological status. Animals grazed on Caatinga, under continuous stocking, and were gathered and kept in individual pens overnight. The experiment to evaluate animal performance was a randomized block design with 4 treatments (0, 11, 33 and 60 days of fallowing) and six replications. To determine dry mass production and floristic composition, phosphate fertilization was used in the doses of x P2O5 in a randomized block design with five treatments, 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg P2O5 with 4 replications. Phosphate fertilization had an effect on the floristic composition of dicots and U. trichopus (P<0.05). There was an effect of pasture fallowing on the final weight of goats, with the lowest weight (20.40 kg) observed after 60 days of fallowing (P<0.05). Fallowing is not suitable for an area of vegetation in the caatinga, because there was a decrease in forage availability and quality in the dry period, resulting in a lower performance of animals.

Effect of AAU/CI herbal formulation incorporated in urea molasses block on body weight gain in goats infected with spontaneous gastro intestinal nematodosis

The study was conducted during 2018-19 to observe the body weight gain in goats after treatment with AAU/CI herbal formulation incorporated in urea molasses block (MUMB) in spontaneous gastro intestinal nematodosis infection. Forty two crossbred goats were taken irrespective of age, sex, and fed with standard feed ration, randomly divided into seven groups of six each. The faecal samples were collected from each animal for Egg per gram (EPG) and examined by modified Stoll’s dilution technique (Soulsby, 1982). The EPG (ranged from 200-400) and body weights were recorded by using Avery platform, prior to the treatment (0 day) and every 15 days interval upto 100 days post treatment. The herbal formulation consisted of sample AAU/CI prepared by drying and grinding of the plant (leaf & stem) material incorporated in UMB. This MUMB (AAU/CI) were fed to the animal @ 15 g /animal/day in group 1 (stall feeding) by licking and group 3 (grazing) fed individually. To compare the herbal formulation with standard anthelmintic, Fenbendazole @ 0.5 mg/ kg body weight of goat was incorporated in UMB. This MUMB (FBZ) were fed to the animals of group 5 (stall feeding) by licking and group 6 (grazing) individually. There was increase in body weight significantly (P

The impact of anthelmintic drugs on weight gain of smallholder goats in subtropical regions

Helminth infections are recognised as a major impediment to the productivity of goats in smallholder production systems. We used a multilevel framework to estimate the impact that administration of locally available anthelminthic drugs can have on the weight gains of goats in smallholder settings in India and Tanzania.We recruited 234 goats from 92 households from Odisha state in India and 253 goats from 15 households from Dodoma region in Tanzania. The goats were non-pregnant adult females, and from each household a minimum of two goats were recruited wherever possible. Each goat was randomly assigned to treatment with a locally available anthelminthic drug, or non-treatment. Each animal was tagged, weighed and had its body condition score (BCS) assessed. Animals were followed up after 28 and 56 days and re-weighed. To account for the local variations in exposure to helminths and for variations between households and herds, the data were analysed in a multilevel mixed model with herd in village as nested random effects.Over the 56 days of study, the non-treated goats in India had gained a mean of 30.64 g per day (a daily gain of 0.23% baseline body weight) and in Tanzania 66.01 g per day (0.33% baseline body weight). From the mixed model, the treated goats in India gained a mean of 25.22 g per day more than non-treated goats, this is significantly greater than the weight gain in non-treated goats (p < 0.001). In Tanzania treated goats gained a mean of 9.878 g per day more than non-treated goats, which is also significantly greater than non-treated goats (p = 0.007). Furthermore, in India and Tanzania, goats with a lighter weight at the baseline survey gained greater amounts of weight. In both studies the BCS of the treated goats improved by a greater amount than the non-treated goats.In this study we have demonstrated that in certain settings, the administration of anthelminthic drugs has a clear beneficial impact on goat weight.

Effect of tanniniferous Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion level on feed intake, digestibility and live weight gain of goats fed a Setaria verticillata grass hay-based diet

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate the effects of tanniniferous Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion level on performance of goats fed on a Setaria verticillata grass hay-based diet. Twenty indigenous male Pedi goats with an average initial live weight of 17.44 ± 2 kg were allocated, in a completely randomized design, to five dietary treatments containing Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion levels of 20%, 25%, 30%, 40% and 50% of the total diet. Daily dry matter intakes were similar (P > .05) across the treatments. Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion improved (P < .05) dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre digestibility coefficients. Dietary treatments had no effect on final live weights of goats. However, live weight gains were higher (P < .05) in goats fed a diet containing 50% Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion level. Dry matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fibre digestibility coefficients were optimized at Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion levels of 69.4%, 48.3% and 42.7%, respectively. Acacia karroo leaf meal inclusion improved nutrient digestibility and live weight gain of the goats and thus has potential to be utilized as a protein supplement when low-quality roughage is used as a basal diet.

The Effect of Supplementing Air-Dried Moringa stenopetala Leaf to Natural Grass Hay on Feed Intake and Growth Performances of Arsi-Bale Goats

The most constraining factor in goat production in the tropics is underfeeding mainly attributed to limitations of feed both in quantity and quality. This study was conducted to assess the effect of supplementing different levels of air-dried Moringa stenopetala leaf (MSL) as a protein source on nutrient intake and growth performances of Arsi-Bale male goats. A total of 24 yearling goats with average initial body weight of 13.6 ± 0.25 kg were used in the study. The goats were blocked by live weight into four groups (n = 6 per group) and the groups were then randomly allocated into four supplemented treatments. All goats received a basal diet of natural grass hay ad libitum and 340 g/head/day concentrate. The treatments were the control diet with no supplementation (Treatment 1, T1) and diets supplemented with MSL at a rate of 120 g/head/day (Treatment 2, T2), 170 g/head/day (Treatment 3, T3) and 220 g/head/day (Treatment 4, T4). The duration of the experiment was 75 days. The results indicated that the average daily feed intake was (p &lt; 0.001) higher in goats supplemented with T3 and T4 diets. The total dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein intakes of goats fed with T3 and T4 supplementations were (p &lt; 0.001) also higher than those reared in T1 and T2 diets. Goats reared in T3 and T4 diets had lower (p &lt; 0.05) feed conversion ratio than those fed with T1 and T2 diets. The final body weight in goats reared in T3 and T4 diets was 18.2 kg and 18.5 kg, respectively, being (p &lt; 0.05) higher than those of T1 (15.8 kg) and T2 (16.3 kg). The average daily weight gain in goats fed with T3 and T4 diets was 111 and 114 g/goat/day, respectively, which was (p &lt; 0.05) higher than those reared in the control (T1) (54.0 g/goat/day) and T2 (58.1 g/goat/day) diets. It can thus be concluded that goats reared at high level of MSL supplementation (T3 and T4) had better nutrient intake, feed conversion efficiency and growth performances, suggesting its potential as a good protein supplement to natural grass hay at the farmer’s management level.

Effects of Concentrate Supplementation on Performance Characteristics of Goats Challenged with Trypanosoma brucei

The influence of concentrate-feed supplementation on dry matter and nutrient intake and digestibility, nitrogen retention and body weight gain in goats challenged with trypanosomiasis was studied. Sixteen male West African Dwarf (WAD) goats (7.32 ± 0.70 kg) inoculated with 1.5 × 106 Trypanosoma brucei were divided into four treatment groups each of four replicates in a 56-day, completely randomized design experiment. Treatments consisted of varying intake levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 g/head/day) of a maize-based concentrate supplement (19.72 %; CP) to basal Panicum maximum hay (10.81 %; CP). Dry matter intake (g/head/day) of 211.77 ± 2.66, 215.14 ± 7.25, 253.28 ± 5.23, and 275.96 ± 3.65 obtained for goats fed supplement at 0, 50, 100 and 150 g/head/day respectively were different. Coefficient of crude protein or crude fibre digestibility was higher (p < 0.05) for goats fed the concentrate supplement at 100 or 150 g/head/day level than for those fed at 50 g/head/day or the control. Differences in feed nutrient intake and digestibility caused gradual improvement (p < 0.05) in body weight gain (g/head/day) from 8.39 ± 0.21 in the un-supplemented group to 18.21 ± 0.42 in goats fed concentrate supplement at 150 g/head/day. The results indicated a positive influence of concentrate supplementation on ability of the goats infected with trypanosomiasis to consume and digest feed nutrients for body weight gain. The 100 g /head/day level of supplementation was considered adequate.

Effects of steaming-up on the performance of grazing does and their kids in arid region

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of steaming-up on the performance of grazing does in arid region of Rajasthan. Twenty-four goats carrying last trimester of pregnancy were selected and divided randomly into untreated (T0) and treated (T1) groups having 12 goats in each. Animals of both the groups were let loosed for grazing in the morning and were offered concentrate feed in the evening. Goats of T1 group were fed additional concentrate feed @ 300g per animal per day. Average body weight gain of goats was significantly (P

Foliage of the tree legumes gliricidia, leucaena, and sesbania as supplement to napier grass diets for growing goats

SummaryThree experiments were conducted to determine the value of foliage from three tropical legume trees as low level protein supplements to napier grass diets for growing ‘Kacang’ goats. The average crude protein concentration in the napier grass was 12%.Napier grass and foliage of the legume trees Gliricidia maculata, Leucaena leucocephala and Sesbania grandiflora were subjected to in situ microbial fermentation and subsequent treatment with acid-pepsin solution. The levels of N solubilized after 2 h incubation were 46 and 43% for napier grass and sesbania respectively, which were higher (P &lt; 0·05) than those for gliricidia and leucaena (27%). Rates of protein disappearance between 2 and 24 h incubation in the rumen averaged 2·6%/h for the legumes and 1·0%/h for napier grass. The proportion of water-insoluble, rumendegradable protein from the legumes was larger (P &lt; 0·05) than that from napier grass.Napier grass intake by goats supplemented with gliricidia or leucaena at 15% of the dry-matter intake from napier grass was lower (P &lt; 0·05) than that of controls receiving no legume supplement. Napier grass intake did not differ between controls and sesbania-supplemented goats. There was no difference among diets in total dry-matter intake, intake of cell wall constituents or digestibility. Average daily gain for control goats was – 1 g/day as compared with 21 g/day for supplemented goats.The feeding of formaldehyde-treated soya-bean meal (F-SBM) as a supplement to either napier grass or napier grass–legume diets increased (P &lt; 0·05) intake of dry matter and weight gain of goats. Napier grass intake of animals supplemented with only F-SBM was higher (P &lt; 0·05) than that of control animals. The efficiency of N utilization from F-SBM was higher than that in the legumes, but replacement of legumes by F-SBM above 4% F-SBM feeding had no effect on weight gain or efficiency of utilization.It was concluded that napier grass of 6–8 weeks' regrowth with 12% crude protein did not provide sufficient protein for growing goats owing to inefficient protein utilization. The increase in efficiency of protein utilization on supplemented diets is mainly associated with the larger proportion of water insoluble, rumen degradable protein and possibly acid-pepsin soluble protein in tropical tree legumes.

Hypothalamic Hyperphagia in Goats and Some Observations of Its Effect on Glucose Utilization Rate

A series of goats were prepared with an electrode guide plate and a ruminal cannula, then subjected to hypothalamic lesioning. The four goats in which lesions were situated in the ventromedial area became hyperphagic, three of them for over 60 days, with weight gains of about 0.75kg per day during the first ten days. Goats with lesions not in the ventromedial area did not become hyperphagic. The hyperphagic goats had increased serum immunoreactive insulin levels. They showed about twice the normal glucose disappearance rates during glucose tolerance tests and increased serum insulin responses to the glucose load. The glucose utilization rate as determined by continuous injection of 11C-labeled glucose was about twice the normal level during the dynamic phase of hyperphagia and was near normal during the static phase. Lesions of the ventromedial area of the hypothalamus induce prolonged hyperphagia and substantial weight gain in goats as they do in monogastric animals.