Feeding Chromonaela odorata during pregnancy to goat dams affects acceptance of this feedstuff by their offspring

We investigated the effect of Chromonaela odorata ingestion by goat dams during pregnancy on intake of C. odorata by their kids. Alteration of prenatal feed preference may be used to increase feed intake of novel feeds and the transit from outdoor to indoor goat farming in Vietnam. Ten female goats were synchronized, inseminated and divided randomly into 2 equal groups. The experimental group was offered 50 g of sun dried C. odorata leave meal (COLM) along with a basal diet from day 45 to 135 of pregnancy while the control group was offered only the basal diet during this period. After weaning (3 mo), one kid from each goat dam in both groups was randomly selected and housed in individual cages. After a 9.5 h fast, each kid was offered 50 g of COLM daily at 8:30 am for 30 min for 4 weeks. Feeding activities were monitored with a video camera system. We determined mean COLM intake and indices of feed acceptance including latency to eat, number of visits without intake, meal frequency, eating bout length, eating time, intake rate, meal size and chewing time for each kid.Intake of COLM by goat kids born to dams fed COLM was significantly higher over the 4 weeks compared to goat kids born to dams not fed COLM (11.32 ± 3.60 g vs. 6.09 ± 1.91 g, P < 0.028). This difference was more pronounced during weeks 3 and 4 than weeks 1 and 2. Goat kids from mothers fed COLM had a shorter latency to eat, a larger meal size and a longer chewing time than kids from mothers not fed COLM during pregnancy. We conclude that in utero transmission of feeding preference occurred from does to their offspring.