ABSTRACT
The present study was performed to investigate the effect of feeding leaves and stems of Acacia saligna, Leucaena leucocephala and Moringa oleifera fodder on nutrients digestibility, nitrogen utilization, rumen fermentation and milk production of goats. Thirty lactating does (weight ranged from 30–33 kg), aged 2-4 years old and from 2nd to 3th lactation season were randomly allocated into three similar groups (10 animals each). Each doe was given 300 gm barley grains per day as energy supplement, while, the shrubs were given ad libitum. The first group fed fresh Acacia saligna, the second group fed fresh Leucaena leucocephala and the third group fed fresh Moringa oleifera ad libitum.
The lactating trial was extended for 75 days where goats were fed individually and fresh water was available at all times. Nutrients digestibility coefficients and dietary nitrogen utilization of experimental feeds were evaluated using four adult bucks. Rumen fermentation kinetics as well as some rumen parameters were monitored on three fistulated adult does.
Results indicated that M. oleifera and L. leucocephala fodder had the (P<0.05) highest in crude protein. Mostly digestibility of different nutrients of goats fed either M. oleifera or L. leucocephala rations were (P<0.05) higher than those fed acacia saligna one. But nutritive value, nitrogen utilization, and dry matter intake were (P<0.05) improved with goats fed L. leucocephal and M. oleifera in comparison with acacia saligna. Milk production, protein and fat percentage were (P<0.05) better for goats fed M. oleifera and L. leucocephala diet than those fed Acacia saligna diet. Ammonia-N, volatile fatty acids concentrations, rumen volume, microbial protein synthesis and total bacteria counts were (P<0.05) highest with M. oleifera and L. leucocephal groups compared with A. saligna group. Blood glucose and serum total protein were decreased in goats fed A. saligna. Thus, it could be concluded that M. oleifera and L. leucocephal fodder are suitable for feeding goats without any adverse effect on their growth performance.