Fodder value of three browse forage species for growing goats
2018
O.A. Olafadehan | S.A. Okunade
The study evaluated the effects of ad libitum feeding of foliages of Afzelia africana, Daniellia oliveri and Entada africana supplemented with concentrate in twenty-four intact growing bucks (6 mo old, live weight (LW) 7.30 ± 0.1 kg). Goats were divided into three equal groups of similar LW in a complete randomized design. Intakes of forage, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), nitrogen, organic matter (OM) and digestible crude protein (DCP), average daily gain, digestibilities of DM and CP, DCP, N retention, ruminal fluid acetate, and serum urea N, albumin and globulin were greater (P < 0.05; 0.01) in Afzelia or Daniellia vs. Entada. Digestible energy (DE) to DCP ratio was lower (P < 0.01) in Afzelia or Daniellia vs. Entada and in Afzelia vs. Daniellia. Digestibility of OM, digestible OM, energy, microbial protein synthesis, ruminal volatile fatty acids and serum total protein were superior (P < 0.05) in Afzelia vs. Entada and in Daniellia vs. Entada (P < 0.01). Digestibility of fibre fractions and ruminal NH3-N was lower (P < 0.05; 0.01) for Entada relative to Afzelia and Daniellia. Whereas ruminal fluid propionate was higher (P < 0.05; 0.01) for Daniellia compared to Afzelia or Entada, the acetate to propionate ratio was lower (P < 0.05; 0.01) in Daniellia than in Afzelia or Entada. Methane production was higher (P < 0.05) for Afzelia than for Daniellia or Entada. Serum glucose was greater in Daniellia than Afzelia (P < 0.05), in Afzelia than Entada (P < 0.05) and in Daniellia than Entada (P < 0.01). Results suggest Daniellia as an alternative fodder for Afzelia and indicate higher feeding value of Afzelia and Daniellia for feeding growing goats compared to Entada.
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