Effect of amaranth hay meal on young Saanen goat growth

Abstract

The results of evaluating the effectiveness of using amaranth hay meal in the composition of concentrate feed for growing young Saanen goats are discussed. The experiment was conducted on a farm in the Altai Region on three groups of 6 animals of the age 3–5 months taking into account their gender. The control group received a standard diet while the animals of the Trial group 2 received compound feed with 5% of amaranth hay meal (replacing 5% of oats), and the Trial group 3 received feed with 10% (replacing 10% of oats). The dynamics of live weight, absolute and average daily weight gains were studied. The animals were weighed individually in the morning at the beginning and end of the experiment. The inclusion of 10% of amaranth hay meal contributed to an increase of the growth rate of young animals. The male young goats of the Trial group 3 outperformed the control herd mates in terms of absolute weight gain by 23.9% (9.2 kg vs. 7.0 kg), and in terms of the average daily weight gain by 22.2% (150.0 g vs. 116.6 g). The average daily weight gain of the female young goats in the Trial group 3 made 130.4 g which was by 12.2% higher than that in the control (114.4 g). The largest live weight was recorded in the Trial group 3: the male young goats weighed 22.5 kg, and the female young goats weighed 20.7 kg which was by 13.3% and 6.7% greater than in the control, respectively. The animals of the Trial group 2 were in an intermediate position showing a tendency towards higher average daily gains. The inclusion of 10% of amaranth hay meal into the concentrate feed instead of oats is an efficient method of increasing the growth rate of young goats of the age 3-5 months and is recommended for use in young goat nutrition plans after weaning.