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Feeding Sesbania Leaves as a Sole Feed on Growth and Nutrient Utilization in Goats |
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M. Shahjalal, J. H. Topps |
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| Abstract |
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An experiment was conducted for 56 days using nine castrated male Black Bengal goats (initial live weight 9.0 kg) aged about 5 months to study the effects of feeding Sesbania leaves as a sole feed on growth performance and nutrient utilization. The animals were fed ad libitum on either road-side grass, Sesbania aculeata leaves or Sesbania rostrata leaves. Average dry matter (DM) intake was 179, 229 and 259 g/d for goats fed road-side grass, Sesbania aculeata and Sesbania rostrata, respectively. Corresponding mean values for average daily live weight change were -6.6, 9.5 and 38.1 g, respectively. These values were higher (p<0.05) for goats fed Sesbania leaves than those given road-side grass. The apparent digestibility of all the proximate components except CF and the concentrations of DCP, TDN, DOM and ME of Sesbania leaves were higher (p<0.05) than those of road-side grass. Sesbania rostrata was superior (p<0.05) to Sesbania aculeata for nutrient digestibilities (except for NFE) and also for DOM, DCP and ME concentrations. Therefore, it may be concluded that the production of Sesbania rostrata, a legume fodder, should be encouraged for feeding goats. |
| Keywords:
Goats; Sesbania Leaves; Growth; Digestibility |
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