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MEKARN Conference 2010 |
A trial to measure the growth performance of young goats(Capra spp.) l was carried out during a 3 month period at the experimental farm of Livestock Research Center, Vientiane, Laos to study the effect of feeding fresh cassava foliage or sun-dried cassava foliage based on Gamba grass and sugar cane stalk. Twenty four goats of which twelve males and twelve females with the average body weight of 10,28 kg and at the average age of 6 to 7 month old were randomly allocated to four treatments of six animals according to weight and sex. The experimental feeds were Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus cv. Kent) and sugar cane stalk (Saccharum officinarum) as basal diets, supplemented with fresh cassava foliage or sun-dried cassava foliage (Manihot esculenta, Crantz). Feeds were offered ad libitum of an expected daily dry matter (DM) intake of 3% of body weight (BW).
The highest daily weight gain was 59 g/day for the treatment using Gamba grass with fresh cassava foliage following by 56, 45 and 41 g/day for the treatment using sugar cane with fresh cassava foliage, Gamba grass with sun-dried cassava foliage and sugar cane with sun-dried cassava foliage. DM feed conversion and DM per live weight gain were 16, 9, 12 and 6 and 58, 47, 42 and 33 g/kg for the treatments using Gamba grass with sun-dried cassava foliage, Gamba grass with fresh cassava foliage, sugar cane with sun-dried cassava foliage and sugar cane with fresh cassava foliage respectively.
In conclusion, the daily weight gain was higher when using Gamba grass as basal diet supplemented fresh cassava foliage and the better DM feed conversion was for the treatment using sugar cane supplemented with fresh cassava foliage.