Effect of Method of Offering Muntingia (Muntingia Calabura) Foliages to Goats on Intake and Feeding Behaviour
Effect of method of offering Muntingia (Muntingia calabura) foliages to goats on intake and feeding behaviour
Pok Samkol
University of Tropical Agriculture (UTA-Cambodia)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia samkol@mekarn.org Abstract
An experiment was conducted according to a change over design to study the effect of three methods of offering Muntingia calabura foliage on the voluntary feed intake and feeding behavior of young male goats. The methods were: branches hanging from the top of the cage or put in the feed trough and leaves put in the feed trough. The goats were of a local Vietnamese breed averaging 9 kg live weight.
Goats fed hanging branches of Muntingia had highest feed intake (33.52 g DM/kg body weight) as compared to the other treatments. Eating rate tended to be higher and ruminating rate was significantly higher for this treatment. From 8 am to 8 pm, animals spent the majority of time eating and ruminating, which accounted for some 65.7 to 74.7% of the period of time examined. There was no effect of treatment on any of the feeding behavior indices.
It is considered that the method of hanging foliage for goats is a feeding method that can contribute to improved performance of goats under practical farming conditions in countries of the Mekong basin.
Key words: Branches, feed trough, foliage, goats, hanging, leaves, Muntingia
Introduction
Goats have been raised during many years by farmers (Devendra and Burns 1983). They can help to enhance the income of smallholder farmers in the rural areas, especially in the mountainous areas. According to Theng Kouch (2003), goat raising offers more opportunities to improve the economic livelihood of smallholder farmers by converting low-cost inputs to high value end products (meat, milk and skins). On the other hand, it has been claimed that goats have the ability to browse effectively because of the presence of mobile upper-lips (Devendra and Coop 1982; Van Soest 1982). The selective behaviour of
Pok Samkol
University of Tropical Agriculture (UTA-Cambodia)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia samkol@mekarn.org Abstract
An experiment was conducted according to a change over design to study the effect of three methods of offering Muntingia calabura foliage on the voluntary feed intake and feeding behavior of young male goats. The methods were: branches hanging from the top of the cage or put in the feed trough and leaves put in the feed trough. The goats were of a local Vietnamese breed averaging 9 kg live weight.
Goats fed hanging branches of Muntingia had highest feed intake (33.52 g DM/kg body weight) as compared to the other treatments. Eating rate tended to be higher and ruminating rate was significantly higher for this treatment. From 8 am to 8 pm, animals spent the majority of time eating and ruminating, which accounted for some 65.7 to 74.7% of the period of time examined. There was no effect of treatment on any of the feeding behavior indices.
It is considered that the method of hanging foliage for goats is a feeding method that can contribute to improved performance of goats under practical farming conditions in countries of the Mekong basin.
Key words: Branches, feed trough, foliage, goats, hanging, leaves, Muntingia
Introduction
Goats have been raised during many years by farmers (Devendra and Burns 1983). They can help to enhance the income of smallholder farmers in the rural areas, especially in the mountainous areas. According to Theng Kouch (2003), goat raising offers more opportunities to improve the economic livelihood of smallholder farmers by converting low-cost inputs to high value end products (meat, milk and skins). On the other hand, it has been claimed that goats have the ability to browse effectively because of the presence of mobile upper-lips (Devendra and Coop 1982; Van Soest 1982). The selective behaviour of