Effect of feeding sorghum grains on performance of crossbred kids.

摘要

This study was conducted to evaluate the replacement of maize by sorghum grain in the ration of growing kids. 20 crossbred kids were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each. The concentrate mixture of control group (T1) was comprised of maize grain, barley, soyabean oilmeal, mineral mixture and common salt. In the concentrate mixtures of groups T2, T3 and T4, the maize grain was replaced with sorghum grain at 33, 66 and 100%, respectively. The dry matter intake, digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter, crude fibre, ether extract, nitrogen-free extract, acid detergent fibre and cellulose and total digestible nutrient (TDN) intake were insignificantly different among the groups. The crude protein digestibility and digestible crude protein (DCP) intake were significantly lower in the T4 group. The nutritive value in terms of TDN and DCP percentage were unaffected by the incorporation of sorghum grain in the diet. The DCP intake and TDN met the requirements for all the treatment groups and showed a positive nitrogen balance. The average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were unaffected by feeding sorghum grain in place of maize to kids. However, the daily gain and nitrogen retention were higher in the T2 group. It might be inferred that kids could be fed with sorghum grain as an energy source substitute to maize without affecting the nutrient utilization, weight gain and feed conversion efficiency.