The Nutrient Utilization and Growth Performance of Barbari Kids Fed Tree Leaves Mixture with or without Supplementation of Concentrate Mixture Shah N., Mathur M.M.*, Arora N., Mukherjee S.K. Department of Animal Nutrition College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry Jabalpur-482 001, India. *Reprint request: Dr. M.M. Mathur, Tel: +91-761-2427220.
Abstract An experiment on 18 male Barbari kids of 4–6 months age with an average body weight of 10.69±0.02 kg was conducted for 140 days to determine the effect of concentrate supplementation on their growth and nutrient utilization when fed liberally on tree leaves mixture (TLM) and/or natural grasses (G). The animals were divided into three equal groups and fed either tree leaves mixture [TLM: Pipal (Ficus religiosa); gular (Ficus glomerata) and pakar (Ficus infectoria) in equal parts] ad libitum (T1) or TLM ad libitum alongwith 300g concentrate (T2) or TLM and G (1:1) ad libitum alongwith 300 g concentrates (T3). The average daily DMI did not differ significantly amongst the treatments. The average daily gain was significantly (P<0.01) higher in the concentrate fed groups than sole TLM fed group (60.26 and 49.60 vs 30.00g). Average daily water intake followed the same trend. The meandaily CP intake (g/kg w0.75) was significantly higher (P<0.01) in T2 than T1 and T3 (15.76 vs 11.37 and 13.30g). The average daily ME intake did not vary significantly irrespective of the treatments. The average daily Ca intake was significantly higher (P<0.01) in T1 than T2 and T3 but the average daily P intake was significantly more (P<0.01) in T2 and T3 than T1. The digestibility coefficients of organic nutrients were significantly higher (P<0.01) in both the concentrate fed groups (T2 and T3) than TLM group. All the kids were positive in nitrogen balance. The nitrogen balance was significantly higher (P<0.05) in T2 and T3 than T1. It is concluded that when fed as a sole feed, TLM could sustain a daily growth rate of 30g for Barbari kids, whereas, supplementation of 300 g concentrates is required to the basal roughage of tree leaves for attaining the near optimum daily growth rate (60g). Top Key words Tree leaves, Barbari kids, Growth, Nutrient utilization. Top |