Abstract

To determine the effect of different levels of feed intake on the utilisation of nutrients, eight adult Barbari goat bucks (20.14 ± 0.74 kg mean body wt) were allotted to two sets of 4X4 Latin square design. The animals were fed on diets comprising of concentrate mixture and wheat straw (1:1 ratio) at four fixed levels of voluntary feed intake (95%, 80%, 60% and 40%) in groups I, II, III and IV respectively. The experiment consisted of four 21-day feeding periods and four feeding levels. A metabolism trial was conducted during the last 8 days of each feeding period. During the study it was observed that lowering the level of feed intake decreased the efficiency of utilisation of dry matter, organic matter and fibre fractions in Barbari goats. Feed restriction also lowered the efficiency of utilisation of absorbed nitrogen and thus increased the proportion of nitrogen excreted in urine. From these results, it is evident that feed restriction adversely affects the nutrient digestibility of Barbari goats.

Keywords : Barbari goats, Levels of feed intake, Nutrient digestibility, Nitrogen balance