EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTATION OF WHEAT BRAN BOKASHI WITH CONCENTRATE MIXTURE ON GROWTH AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF HARARGHE HIGHLAND AND SOMALI GOATS FED ON GRASS HAY BASAL DIET.

Abstract

Roughage constitutes a major feed source for animals under the crop-livestock mixed farming system in Ethiopia; however, this feed is poor quality; hence, it is poorly digested. An effective microbe (EM) is considered an option for improving poor-quality feeds. This study was conducted at the Haramaya University Goat Farm with the aim of evaluating the effects of feeding effective microbe-treated wheat bran (WB Bokashi) to both the Hararghe Highland and Somali goat breeds on nutrient intake, digestibility, growth and slaughter performance, carcass yield and quality. A total of 40 (20 from each breed) yearling goats with an initial body weight of 18.1 ± 3.3 kg (mean ± SD) were purchased from local markets and used for a 90-day feeding trial. The experimental design was RCBD with a 2×4 factorial arrangement (2 genotypes × 4 WB Bokashi supplementation levels) in which the animals were blocked based on their initial body weight and randomly assigned to each dietary treatment. The bucks were grouped into five blocks and four treatment groups. Each block had four bucks from each breed based on their initial body weight (IBW), and bucks within a block were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment diets. The four dietary treatment groups were T1, T2, T3, and T4, in which WB Bokashi was fed to the animals at rates of 0%, 3%, 5%, and 7%, respectively. The concentrate mixtures formulated from wheat bran, noug seed cake and ruminant vitamin and mineral premixes were fed to the animals on a DM basis at a rate of 2.5% of their body weight. The pasture grass hay was provided ad libitum. The results of this study indicated that HH goats (762 gm/day) had better (p < 0.05) daily DMI than did Somali goats (664 gm/day). The mean daily dry matter intake of the goats was 713 g/day/head. The DM intake was greater (824.5 g/day) for the bucks fed the T4 diet than for those in the other treatment groups. In addition, the bucks fed the T4 diet had greater (p < 0.05) FCE (0.124), ADG (103.3 g/head/day), HCW and CCW (13.7 kg and 12.8 kg, respectively) than did the bucks fed the other dietary treatments. When both breeds were compared, HH goats were found to have greater (p < 0.05) FCE, ADG, rib eye area, fat thickness, and carcass weight than short-eared Somali goats. there was significant difference (p < 0.05) across the treatments in terms of the real dressing percentage. xvii This study also indicated that compared with short-eared Somali goats, Hararghe highland goats have significantly greater (p < 0.05) mean weights of edible offal parameters, such as blood, head, heart, empty gut, and total yields of edible products (TYEPs). However, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the two goat breeds in terms of the weights of the tongue, kidney, liver with gall bladder, gut fat, or total edible noncarcass fat. Furthermore, ADG was positively and strongly correlated with FCE, DM, and CP total intake. In conclusion, this study indicated that the maximum potential of both goat breeds is to achieve optimum growth performance and produce optimum carcass and meat yields when fed WB Bokashi at 7% supplemented with concentrate mixtures. Finally, based on this study, it can be concluded that 7% Wheat bran Bokashi supplementation was biologically and economically profitable for HH and Somali goats managed under both commercial and smallholder farmer management conditions.