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ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Effects of supplementing rice straw with Leucaena ( Leucaena leucocephala ) and Madras thorn ( Pithecellobium dulce ) foliages on digestibility, microbial N supply and nitrogen balance of growing goats
Author(s) -
Paengkoum P.,
Paengkoum S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.651
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1439-0396
pISSN - 0931-2439
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2009.00978.x
Subject(s) - leucaena , leucaena leucocephala , latin square , nitrogen balance , ruminant , biology , straw , zoology , nutrient , pulp (tooth) , rice straw , fodder , fermentation , rumen , nitrogen , food science , agronomy , chemistry , pasture , medicine , ecology , organic chemistry , pathology
Summary A total of 12 crossbred (Boer × Anglo‐Nubian) goats were chosen from a commercial farm on the basis of similar body weight (25.0 ± 3.1 kg). The goats were housed in individual pens and allowed 3 weeks to adapt to experimental conditions. The goats were randomly allocated to three treatments in a 3 × 3 Latin square experiment (replicated four times). Within each period, each goat was given rice straw as roughage plus the respective treatment diet. The diets were iso‐nitrogenous and iso‐energetic containing cassava pulp, molasses, urea and commercial mineral and vitamin mix. The experimental treatments were (i) soybean meal (SBM), (ii) partial substitution of SBM with Leucaena ( Leucaena leucocephala ) foliage and (iii) partial substitution of SBM with Madras thorn ( Pithecellobium dulce ) foliage. Nutrient intakes, ruminal characteristics (pH, ammonia nitrogen and volatile fatty acids), nitrogen balances, plasma urea nitrogen and microbial N supply were not significantly different among treatments. The results of this study indicate that protein foliages from locally grown shrubs and trees can substitute imported feedstuff concentrates (e.g. SBM) as protein supplement for goat production.