Inclusion of different proportions of poultry litter in the rations of yearling Hararghe Highland goats

摘要

TheexperimentwasconductedtodeterminedifferentlevelsofpoultrylitterinclusioninsupplementdietsofHarargheHighlandgoatsonfeedintake,digestibility,Nretentionandbodyweight(BW)gainatHaramayaUniversity,Ethiopia.Twenty-fouryearlingmaleHarargheHighlandgoatswithaBWof20.3±1.98(mean±SD)wereusedinthestudy.Theexperimentaldesignwasarandomizedcompleteblockdesign.Sixgoatswererandomlyassignedtoeachofthefourdietarytreatmentsthatconsistedofadlibitumgrasshay+nougseed(Guizotiaabyssinica)cakesupplementation(T1),andreplacementofnougseedcakewithnbsp;14(T2),28(T3)and45%(T4)poultrylitterondrymatter(DM)basis.nbsp;DailyDMintakeincreased(P0.05)withinclusionofpoultrylitterupto28%inthesupplementdiets,butitdeclined(P0.05)at45%ofpoultrylitterinclusion.Crudeprotein(CP)intakedecreased(P0.05)at45%ofpoultrylitterinclusion,anddailyLWgainwaslower(P0.05)inanimalssupplementedwiththesamedietcomparedtotheotherlevelsofpoultrylitterinclusion.ApparentdigestibilitycoefficientofDMandCPat45%poultrylitterinclusionwerelower(P0.05)thantheotherdiets.Fromtheresultsofthisstudy,itisconcludedthatpoultrylittercouldreplacefavorablyconventionalCPsourcessuchasnougseedcakebyupto28%intherationofgoats.