EFFECT OF NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION ON LITTER SIZE OF MALABARI DOES AND GROWTH RATE OF KIDS
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Date
2015
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COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES-MANNUTHY,THRISSUR
Abstract
An experiment was carried out in fifty adult crossbred Malabari goats to study
the effect of nutrient supplementation on litter size of does and growth rate of kids.
Fifty adult female crossbred Malabari goats were selected from University Goat and
Sheep farm, Mannuthy for the experiment. The animals were grouped into two
groups as control and experimental animals of twenty five animals each uniformly
and they were fed with concentrate mixture containing 18 per cent crude protein and
65 per cent total digestible nutrients (farm ration). The animals were offered fresh
hybrid napier grass as the sole roughage. Additional 200 g of the same concentrate
mixture were fed to all animals in experimental group two weeks prior to breeding.
All the animals from control and experimental groups were examined for pregnancy by abdominal palpation. At the 16th week of gestation pregnancy was further
confirmed by ultra sound scanning. Eighteen pregnant animals from each group were
selected randomly and maintained on the feeding and management conditions
prevailing in the farm up to the fourth month of gestation. At last month of gestation
both control and experimental group were divided into three subgroups of six
animals. Each groups were allotted randomly to one of the dietary treatments T1 (18
per cent CP and 65 per cent TDN), T2 (20per cent CP and 65 per cent TDN), T3 (
18per cent CP and 70 per cent TDN).Data on daily dry matter intake, body weight of
does during gestation, at kidding and average birth weight of kids and fortnightly
body weight of kids for first month were used for evaluation of work.
The results of the study indicated that feeding of does with extra 200g of
concentrate mixture (18 per cent CP and 65 per cent TDN) two weeks prior to
breeding had no significant effect on the litter size of does and average daily gain of
kids but there was a difference in the average birth weight of the kids which was 1.56
kg in the control group and 1.83 kg in the experimental group. In addition, maternal
nutrition had a significant effect on the average birth weight, average daily gain and
fortnightly body weight of kids. Feeding high energy (70 per cent TDN) and high
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protein (20 per cent CP) concentrate mixture to does during last month of gestation
resulted in better average birth weight, daily gain and body weight at the end of first
month in kids, both in the control and experimental group. Feeding of diet with high
energy had a significant effect on the average birth weight, average daily gain and
fortnightly body weight of kids compared to the group that was maintained on the
farm ration containing 65 per cent TDN and 18 per cent CP (ICAR 1998).The
average birth weight and daily gain of the kids in the high energy group was 2.35 and
0.12 kg for the experimental group and 1.95, 0.11 kg for the control group,
respectively. The corresponding values in the high protein group were 2.07 and 0.10
kg for experimental and 1.65 and 0.10 kg for the control group, respectively. A
significantly lower values of 1.83 and 0.09 kg in the experimental (T1) and 1.56 and
0.08 kg in the control group (T1) was observed for the birth weight and average daily
gain. By taking into account of the total weight of kids after one month, the returns
over expenditure were Rs. 3229.64, 3406.24 and 5715.32, respectively for treatments
T1, T2 and T3 of control and Rs.4001.66, 5998.30 and 7199.43 for T1, T2 and T3 of
experimental group.
From the above data it can be concluded that even though supplementation of
concentrate mixture with 18 per cent CP and 65 per cent TDN to does, two weeks
prior to breeding resulted in better birth weight of kids, feeding of a concentrate
mixture with 18 per cent CP and 70 per cent TDN to does during last month of
gestation improved the birth weight and total gain in kids and better returns over
expenditure compared to concentrate mixture with 20 per cent CP and 65 per cent
TDN or 18 per cent CP and 65 per cent TDN. Thus even though high protein diet had
significant effect on the growth performance of kids compared to control, feeding a
diet with 70 per cent TDN and 18 per cent CP to does in last month of gestation is
better in having increased average birth weight and growth performance of kids.
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