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Abstract

Background: Novel feeding strategies should be developed to produce high-quality meat in current goat production systems. Objective: To evaluate the effects of castration and the association of spineless cactus with sugarcane bagasse or elephant grass hay on nutrient intake, digestibility, performance, feeding behavior and carcass traits of feedlot kids. Methods: A total of 24 male kids (12 castrated and 12 intact), with an average initial weight of 18.5 +/- 3.8 kg were allotted to a completely randomized 2 x 2 factorial design (sugar cane bagasse or elephant grass hay; intact or castrated), and confined for 70 days. Results: Nutrient intake and animal performance were similar between treatments. Sugarcane bagasse increased, when compared to elephant grass hay, the digestibility of dry matter (66.12 vs 62.88; p=0.005), crude protein (74.26 vs 70.95; p=0.029) and non-fibrous carbohydrates (91.94 vs 83.07; p

Keywords

carcass yield; caprine; castration; elephant grass hay; feedlot; fiber source; goat meat; roughage; small ruminants; sugarcane bagasse

Published in

Revista colombiana de ciencias pecuarias
2022, volume: 35, number: 1, pages: 49-59
Publisher: UNIV ANTIOQUIA, FAC CIENCIAS AGRARIAS

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rccp.v35n1a05

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/122053