Metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance of Kenyan goats
Abstract
Twenty goats, aged 7 months and weighing between 13 and 18 kg, were given diets containing 0, 20, 40 and 60% coffee pulp and hay ad libitum for 20 weeks. Metabolizable energy (ME) intake was estimated in vitro during 12- and 8-week periods and related to liveweight gain in a regression involving 40 sets of data. A maintenance requirement of ME 556 kJ kg-0.75 day-1 was calculated, which was similar to some reports in the literature but exceeded others by 20%. Less variable was energy cost of gain which was estimated at 27.9 kJ ME per g. Efficiency of utilization of ME for growth was 35.8%. Values reported here are useful for feeding Kenyan goats under confinement.
URI
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19901422923.html?resultNumber=5&q=au%3A%22Abate%2C+A.%22http://hdl.handle.net/11295/81914
Citation
Small Ruminant Research 1989 Vol. 2 No. 4 pp. 299-306Publisher
University of Nairobi