| dc.description.abstract | The study was conducted in the western lowlands of Eritrea at
Tessenei Dairy Goat Multiplication and Demonstration Station
located in Gash-Barka zone, 365 killsnorthwest of Asmara. The
objective of the study was to determine the effect of water
restriction on milk yield, weight gain and kids' growth rate
of local Husani goats.
Eighteen mature female Husani goats of similar body weight and
age, and in their late pregnancy stage, were purchased from
the local livestock keepers and randomly assigned to one of
the following watering regimes (treatments): once in 24 h
(Td, once in 48 h (T2) and once in 72 h (T3)' All the goats
were browsed together in the same ecological area to ensure
they received similar diet. All the animals also received the
same husbandry and veterinary care. Daily water intake, daily
milk yield, weekly body weight changes of the mothers and
their kids was determined for six months (April to July 1997) .
All the animals exhibited loss in body weight, reduction in
milk yield and low kids' growth rate throughout the study
period. This was partially attributed to 'lack of adequate feed
since the study was conducted during the dry season and no
supplementary feed was provided. However, 72 h watering regime
resulted in higher average body weight loss (28.5 percent),
higher reduction in milk yield and lower average kids' growth
rate compared with the 24 and 48 h watering regimes. A
significant positive linear correlation (r2 = 0.405, P<O.01)
was observed between average water consumption and milk yield,
i.e. milk yield was higher in those goats which were watered
daily than those watered after 2 and 3 days. There was also a
positive and significant linear correlation (r2=0.295, P<0.05)
between milk consumption and growth rate of kids. The higher
the amount of milk consumed, the higher the kids' body weight
gain. | en |
