Livestock Research Center, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Kenya; National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 811, 811, Vientiane Laos, Kenya; Finca Ecológica, UTA-Colombia, AA#48, Socorro, Santander, Colombia
Kounnavongsa, B., Livestock Research Center, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Kenya; Phengvichith, V., National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 811, 811, Vientiane Laos, Kenya; Preston, T.R., Finca Ecológica, UTA-Colombia, AA#48, Socorro, Santander, Colombia
A trial to measure the growth performance of young goats (Capra spp.) was carried out during a 3 month period at the experimental farm of Livestock Research Center, Vientiane, Laos to study the effect of feeding fresh cassava foliage or sun-dried cassava foliage in diets based on based on Gamba grass or sugar cane stalk. Twenty four goats of which twelve males and twelve females with the average body weight of 10.3 kg and at the age of 6 to 7 month old were randomly allocated to four treatments of six animals according to weight and sex. The experimental feeds were Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus cv. Kent) and sugar cane stalk (Saccharum officinarum) as basal diets, supplemented with fresh cassava foliage or sun-dried cassava foliage (Manihot esculenta, Crantz). Feeds were offered ad libitum. DM intake and daily weight gain were higher, and feed conversion better, for goats fed fresh cassava foliage than for those fed sun-dried cassava foliage. There were no differences between Gamba grass and sugar cane in weight gain but feed intake was higher and feed conversion poorer on the Gamba grrass. The cassava foliage was a higher proportion of the total DM intake on the sugar cane diet (53%) than on the Gamba grass diet (32%) and on dry (50%) than on fresh cassava foliage. There were no symptoms of HCN toxicity in the goats fed the fresh cassava foliage. In conclusion, the daily weight gain was highest when using Gamba grass as basal diet supplemented with fresh cassava foliage and the better DM feed conversion was for the treatment using sugar cane supplemented with fresh cassava foliage.
