Kacang goats are one of many animal commodities that produce meat. Those who raise Kacang goats encounter some obstacles, such as limited quality and quantity of forage during the dry season when there is low availability and poor quality of forage that does not meet the feed requirements of the goats. Forage fodder is integral in the development of livestock, especially ruminants however, the main problem in raising ruminants like goats is forage availability1.
Feed restriction and re-feeding is a potential solution that can be used to improve the efficiency of feed management to increase productivity of goats during the dry season. Feed restriction followed by re-feeding may trigger compensatory growth2.
Keeping in view the above mentioned context a new study was carried out to determine the effects of different feed restrictions and re-feeding on feed intake, digestibility, body weight gain and feed cost in goats3.
For study purpose, there were three treatment groups of goats had an average initial body weights. Control goats (R0) were fed 3.5% Dry Matter (DM) of body weight or underwent 1 month of feed restriction treatment (R1) and 2 months (R2) of 60% restrictions (DM base). The variables measured included; Dry Matter Intake (DMI), Organic Matter Intake (OMI), Crude Protein Intake (CPI), body weight gain, Dry Matter Digestibility (DMD), Organic Matter Digestibility (OMD), Crude Protein Digestibility (CPD) and feed cost.
The study found that compensatory growth will occur in goats after experiencing stress or illness and also found the relationship between efficiency and feed management. Feed restrictions for a month will be more beneficial than 2 months; this restriction may help business practitioners and goat farming.
Based on the research results, it can be concluded that 1 month of feed restriction continued with 2 months of re-feeding (R1) can lead to compensatory growth such that the average daily gain is highest followed by R0 and R2. Goats treated with R1 would provide optimum profit since they consume enough feed (DM, OM and CP) and produce high gain, although they have a higher feed cost.
The study also provided a critical analysis of optimal time restriction duration for goats. Thus, these results may contribute to a new theory on efficiency in feed goat management through feed restriction.
Keywords:
Feed restriction, feed cost, gain, Kacang goat, re-feeding, feed goat management, optimal time restriction, compensatory growth, Dry Matter Intake, Organic Matter Intake, Crude Protein Intake, body weight gain, Dry Matter Digestibility, Organic Matter Digestibility, CrudeProtein Digestibility.
References:
- Mahmud, A., F.M. Khattak, Z. Ali, T.N. Pasha and U. Farooq, 2006. Early feed restriction, a tool to improve the feed efficiency in broilers. J. Biol. Sci., 9: 1178-1180.
- Sarmin, Irkham W., Astuti, P. and Prabowo P.P., 2017. Metabolic and Endocrine Responses to Feed Restriction and Refeeding in Kacang Goats. J. Nutr., 16: 101-108.
- Suwignyo, B., Baihaqi, Z.A., Utomo, R., Sarmin and Widiyono, I., 2017. Effects of Different Feed Restrictions on Kacang Goats. J. Nutr., 16: 236-241.
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