Evaluation of Browse Legume Diets (Acacia angustissima, Leucaena trichandra and Calliandra calothyrsus) on Feed Intake and Growth of Goats

摘要

A 56-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing goats with browse legumes on growth and feed intake. Castrated kids (n = 12) with an average initial age of 135 days and live weight of 14 ± 2kg were used to study the effects of the browse legumes Acacia angustissima, Leucaena trichandra and Calliandra calothyrsus on live weight gain. Three diets made up of wheat straw and maize supplemented with one of the browse legumes at an inclusion level of 30% were randomly assigned to the goats. The diets were made isonitrogenous by adding cottonseed meal from a commercial feed manufacturing company. A commercial goat meal was used as the control while the goats were housed in individual pens. A completely randomized block design was used with the initial weight being the blocking factor. The results indicated that goats fed A. angustissima consumed 2.2kg per week of the supplement which was significantly higher (P<0.05) than for L. trichandra (2kg) and C. calothyrsus (1.9kg) but significantly lower than the control diet (2.9kg). Final live weights showed that goats fed the A. angustissima supplement had live weight gains (23.12kg) that were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those fed L. trichandra (19.37kg) and C. calothyrsus (18.87kg) but not different from the control diet (23.75kg). It is concluded that A. angustissima was the best supplement and that browse legumes have positive effects on the feed intake and growth of goats at an inclusion level of 30%.