Cactus species and tree forage hay in the diet of dairy goats

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2024-03, Vol.56 (2), p.83-83, Article 83
• Main Authors: da Silva, José Geraldo Medeiros, da Silva, Andresa Pereira, Lima, Guilherme Ferreira da Costa, Rangel, Adriano Henrique do Nascimento, da Silva, Gustavo José Azevedo Medeiros, Santos, Lázaro Henrique de Medeiros, de Medeiros, Márcio Raimundo, Saraiva, João Paulo Bezerra, de Macedo, Michelly Fernandes, de Araújo, Thiago Luís Alves Campos, de Lima Júnior, Dorgival Morais
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; blood chemistry; blood serum; cacti and succulents; Carbohydrates; Cholesterol; Composition; crude protein; Dairy farms; dairy goats; Diet; Dietary guidelines; Dry matter; Eating behavior; Efficiency; Feed conversion; Feed efficiency; Food intake; forage; Goats; Hay; Leucaena; Life Sciences; lipid content; Milk; Milk production; Moringa; neutral detergent fiber; Nopalea cochenillifera; Nutrient deficiency; nutrient intake; Nutrients; Opuntia stricta; Regular Articles; Rumination; Saanen; species; trees; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-024-03928-w

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the association of Opuntia stricta (OS) or Nopalea cochenillifera (NC) with Moringa hay (MY) or Leucaena hay (LY) on nutrient intake, ingestive behavior, serum biochemistry, and milk production and composition of dairy goat. Eight multiparous Saanen goats were used, with an average of 68 ± 8 days in milk and 48.5 ± 6 kg of initial weight, fed with the following treatment diets: OS + MY; OS + LY; NC + MY, and NC + LY. The treatments were distributed in a double Latin square, in a 2 × 2 factorial scheme (two varieties of cactus and two of hay). Goats fed with NC had higher ( P   0.05) on milk production, but goats fed with OS produced milk with higher ( P