Supplementing Rhodes grass Chloris gayana hay with Maerua angolensis improves weight gain of growing small East African goats

Abstract

To study the performance of Small East African goats fed Rhodes grass(Chloris gayana) hay supplemented with 5 levels of Maerua angolensis (0, 15, 20, 25, 30g DM W0.75) 20 goats were divided into five groups and randomly assigned five treatments in a randomized complete block design based on initial body weight (10.3±1.3kg). The treatment diets were offered twice daily at 08.00 and 14.00 hours with C. gayana and clean water were available ad libitum. Feed intake increased with increasing level ofM. angolensis, whereas, average daily gain, digestibility of DM, CP, NDF and rumen NH3N were the highest on 20g supplementation level. It is concluded that M. angolensis is a potential protein source and can be supplemented at 124 gd-1 (or 20% of metabolic weight, i.e. 20gDM/kgW0.75) for growing Small East African goats.