Production Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Food Consumption of Etawa Crosbreed Dairy Goats Fed Gliricidia sepium, Concentrate of Palm Kernel Cake and Cassava Leaves

Abstract

The objective of this research was to assess the consumption, digestive efficiency, productivity, and milk quality of Etawa crossbreed dairy goats (ECDG) when they were provided with a diet comprising conventional mixed forage, cassava leaves (CL), Gliricidia sepium (Gs), in addition to palm kernel cake concentrate (PKCC). In this research, a fully randomized design was employed, which included four treatments and four replications. The treatments were defined as follows: Treatment A consisted of company rations, which included a combination of 50% company forages and 50% company concentrate (CC). Treatment B involved a diet comprising 50% Gliricidia sepium and cassava leaves (Gs+CL), 35% CC, and 15% PKCC. Treatment C utilized 50% (Gs+CL), 25% CC and 25% PKCC, while Treatment D incorporated 50% (Gs+CL), 15% CC, and 35% PKCC. The variables under investigation included: the quality of milk (lactose, total solid, water content, protein, fat-free solids, fat, density and acidity level), consumption of organic material (OMI), efficiency of organic matter breakdown (OMD), milk production, intake of dry matter (DMI), intake of crude protein (CPI), digestibility of crude protein (CPD), and digestibility of dry matter (DMD). Data interpretation made use of analysis of variance, with an additional examination provided for detecting dissimilarities among treatments through Duncan's multiple range method. The results of this analysis showed that variables such as digestibility, milk quality, milk production, and feed intake were not significantly affected by the treatment (P>0.05). The utilization of PKCC, along with a blend of G. sepium and cassava leaves, effectively sustained feed digestibility, milk quality, feed intake, and production in ECDG. Substituting the forage provided by the company with a combination of G. sepium and cassava, and substituting the concentrate provided by the company with PKCC, did not result in any noticeable effects on milk quality, production, intake, or Etawa crossbreed dairy goats' digestibility. The mixture comprising 15% company concentrate, 35% PKCC, and 50% cassava and G. sepium successfully maintained milk quality, production, digestibility, and milk consumption in Etawa crossbreed dairy goats.