EFFECTS OF COBALT SUPPLEMENTS ON PERFORMANCE OF PANICUM MAXIMUM HAY FED GOATS

摘要

Fifteen weanling male West African Dwarf (WAD) goats (8-9 months old), of average initial live weight, 10.52 ± 0.87 kg were used to evaluate the effects of dietary cobalt supplements on feed intake, nitrogen retention and body weight gain while on low quality Panicum maximum hay (10.62 % CP) based diet. Three goat treatment groups offered oral supplement of 0, 1.0 or 2.0 mg/head/day elemental cobalt as cobalt chloride were compared. Goats on supplementary cobalt diets (mg/head/day) of 1.0 and 2.0 demonstrated enhanced (P & 0.05) total dry matter intake (28.08 and 28.31 g/Kg LW/head/day respectively), dry matter digestibility (65.19 and 65.77 % respectively), crude fiber digestibility (55.84 and 55.76 % respectively) and daily live weight gain (13.57 and 14.11 g/Kg LW/day respectively) when compared with the corresponding values of 22.71, 48.68, 39.17 and 9.29 obtained for the control fed un-supplemented Panicum maximum hay diet. Nitrogen retention (g/day) was highest in goats fed cobalt supplements (2.34 and 2.13 at 1.0 and 2.0 mg/day levels of supplementation respectively) and lowest for those receiving Panicum maximum hay without cobalt supplement (0.85 g/day). Serum glucose, total protein and urea nitrogen levels were slightly (P & 0.05) elevated in goats receiving cobalt supplements. The WAD goats obviously benefited from oral cobalt supplementation of the Panicum maximum hay which resulted in improved body weight gain by the goats.