Change in growth of Galla goats fed different cultivars of Brachiaria in the coastal lowlands of Kenya

Abstract

Inadequate quality and quantity of feeds is the major constraint to livestock production in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya. A study was conducted to determine the chemical composition and dry matter digestibility of three Brachiaria cultivars namely; Brachiaria brizantha cvs. Piata and MG4, and B. hybrid cv. Mulato II and their effects on live weight changes of Galla goats in the coastal lowlands of Kenya. They were compared with the commonly grown grass, Rhodes grass. Sixteen Galla goats ranging from 10-24 kg were randomly allocated to the four dietary treatments with four animals per treatment. Each goat was supplemented with 100 g/day of maize germ. Mineral licks and water were provided ad libitum. The cvs. Piata and MG4 had significantly (P<0.05) higher crude protein (CP) (12.60% and 12.10% of dry matter, respectively) than cv. Mulato II (3.01%) and Rhodes grass (6.74%). The cvs. Piata and MG4 were also more digestible than Mulato II and Rhodes grass. There was no significance difference (P>0.05) on intake of grass among the goats and ranged from 513-661 g/goat/day. Average daily live weight gain was higher (P<0.05) in goats fed Piata (45.21 g/day) and MG4 (41.28 g/day) than those fed on Mulato II (1.99 g/day) and Rhodes grass (9.64 g/day). Likewise goats fed on Piata (3.80 kg) and MG4 (3.47 kg) had the highest (P<0.05) total weight gain compared with bucklings fed on Mulato II (0.17 kg) and Rhodes grass (0.81 kg). Based on body weight changes and nutritive values, Piata and MG4 showed the greatest potential to address feed quality constraints to livestock production.