Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2458525 Small Ruminant Research 2006 6 Pages PDF
Abstract
Metabolic experiments were conducted for each Thai native (TN) and Anglo Nubian-TN 50% (AN × TN) bucks, 26.5-38 kg BW and 35-52 months of age, by assigning the following concentrate diets, which had four levels of CP concentrations, T1: 14%, T2: 21%, T3: 28% and T4: 35%, on a DM basis. The animals were fed the concentrates at a rate of 1% of their BW and had ad libitum access to Paspalum plicatulum hay. As the CP level increased, digestibility of CP, N excretion in urine and N retention increased (P < 0.01). No significant differences of DM digestibility among the CP levels of diet and between the breeds of bucks were observed. The AN × TN had higher DM intake than TN (P < 0.05, 40.9 g/(kg BW0.75 day) versus 36.0 g/(kg BW0.75 day)), thus N intake of AN × TN was higher than that of TN (P < 0.01, 0.99 g/(kg BW0.75 day) versus 0.90 g/(kg BW0.75 day)). Digestibility of CP and blood urea N concentrations of TN were higher than those of AN × TN (P < 0.05, 69.8% versus 64.0% and 32.2 mg/dl versus 26.7 mg/dl, respectively). The AN × TN tended to retain more N than TN in the higher CP feeding condition of T3 (0.19 g/(kg BW0.75 day) versus 0.11 g/(kg BW0.75 day)) and T4 (0.25 g/(kg BW0.75 day) versus 0.17 g/(kg BW0.75 day)). Digestibility of NDF and ADF, and TDN of TN were higher than those of AN × TN (P < 0.05, 61.1% versus 55.9%, 49.6% versus 43.5% and 65.8% versus 62.4%, respectively). The overall mean DE was 109 kcal/(kg BW0.75 day), and no significant difference of DE among CP levels nor breeds of bucks was observed. Thai native was superior to AN × TN in digestibility of N and fiber fractions at the maintenance level of DE, which might have overcome inferiority of TN to AN × TN in amount of N and energy intake caused by the lower DMI. It is likely that TN goats are well adapted to fodder shortage condition due to their efficient utilization of nutrients.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Animal Science and Zoology
Authors
, ,