Effects of Supplementing Gamba Grass (Andropogon gayanus) with Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Hay and Cassava Root Chips on Feed Intake, Digestibility and Growth in Goats

Phengvichith, Vanthong,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.5

The effects of supplementing Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) with varying levels of hay from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and dried cassava root chip on growth and diet digestibility were studied using local male goats with an average initial body weight of 14.0 kg. Thirty-two animals were allocated to a completely randomized $2{\times}2$ factorial design with eight animals per treatment. The factors were two levels of cassava hay (25% and 35% of an expected dry matter (DM) intake of 3% of body weight) and cassava root chips (0 or 1% of body weight) on an individual basis with grass offered ad libitum. Another four animals were assigned to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design to study digestibility, and were given the same four diets as in the growth experiment. Total DM intake was significantly higher in the group fed diets with cassava hay and root while the DM intake of Gamba grass was not significantly different between treatments. The supplementation with cassava hay and root increased the apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter and N and resulted in a higher N-retention. The apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fiber was not affected significantly. The average daily gain of animals fed diets supplemented with both cassava hay and root was significantly higher than for the animals supplemented with cassava hay alone. The highest daily gain recorded was 70 g/day. In conclusion, supplementing a basal diet of Gamba grass with cassava hay and root chips improved DM intake, digestibility, N-retention and weight gain. In order to minimize the waste of cassava hay, the inclusion level of cassava hay can be recommended to be 25% of expected DM intake, which would give acceptable intake and growth performance when cassava root is included in the diet.

Performance of Growing Goats Fed Panicum maximum and Leaves of Gliricidia sepium

Phimphachanhvongsod, Viengsavanh,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.11

Thirty female goats of local breed (mature weight 28 kg), weighing 11 to 18 kg, were used in a growth experiment with the objectives to evaluate the effect of different levels of Gliricidia sepium leaves in a diet of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) on feed intake, weight gain and apparent digestibility. The goats were allotted to five treatments, consisting of 5 levels, 0 (GL-0), 20 (GL-20), 30 (GL-30), 40 (GL-40) and 50% (GL-50) of Gliricidia sepium leaves in the diet based on the energy requirements of the goats. Another six female goats were used to study the digestibility of three dietary treatments, GL-0, GL-30 and GL-50, according to a double $3{\times}3$ Latin square arrangement. The crude protein (CP) content in Gliricidia was higher and the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) lower than in the Guinea grass. Increasing the amount of Gliricidia leaves resulted in similar intake of total dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), NDF and ADF among treatments, but CP intake increased with increasing Gliricidia in the diet. The highest total DM intake was 3.0% of body weight in the GL-20 diet. The highest daily live weight gain was 43 g/day in the GL-30 diet. Inclusion of 30% of Gliricidia leaves improved the apparent DM, OM and CP digestibility compared to 0% or 50% inclusion. NDF and ADF digestibility declined with increasing levels of Gliricidia leaves in the diet.

Chemical Composition of Some Tropical Foliage Species and Their Intake and Digestibility by Goats

Kongmanila, Daovy,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2009 Animal Bioscience Vol.22 No.6

The chemical composition and water extractable dry matter (DM) of foliages from Erythrina (Erythrina variegata), Fig (Ficus racemosa), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill), Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) and Mango (Mangifera indica) and the feed intake, digestibility and N retention when feeding these foliages were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 12 male goats, 3.5 months old and weighing 14.6 kg, were randomly allocated to a diet consisting of one of the foliages in a change-over design with three periods. The foliages were offered ad libitum at the level of 130% of the average daily feed intake. The Erythrina foliage had a low content of DM and condensed tannins (CT) and a high concentration of crude protein (CP) in leaves plus petioles (193 g/kg DM) and stem, while the Mango foliage had a low CP (69 g/kg DM) and high DM content. The other foliages were intermediate. High content of CT was found in the leaves plus petioles of Jackfruit foliage and in the stem of Fig and Mango foliage. There was a difference in feed intake, nutrient intake, apparent digestibility and N retention between the foliages, with Erythrina, Jackfruit and Kapok foliage being significantly higher in these parameters than Fig, Jujube and Mango foliage. The water extractable DM could be used to estimate N retention, but not DM digestibility in this study. In Experiment 2, 4 male goats weighing 13.4 kg and 6 months old were allocated to a 4${\times}$4 Latin square design. The treatments were: water spinach ad libitum and Fig, Jujube or Mango foliage ad libitum +0.5% of BW as water spinach DM. Feed intake, apparent digestibility and N retention were not significantly different among the foliage diets, but higher than for water spinach alone (p<0.05). Supplementation with water spinach to a diet consisting of low quality foliages such as Fig, Jujube and Mango, increased DM and CP intake, apparent digestibility and N retention, compared to feeding these foliages as sole feeds.

Effect of Feeding Head Lettuce, Water Spinach, Ruzi grass or Mimosa pigra on Feed Intake, Digestibility and Growth in Rabbits

Nakkitset, Supharoek,Mikled, Choke,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.8

The performance of growing rabbits fed Ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis), head lettuce (Lactuca sativa) residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) was studied in an experiment using 64 rabbits (4 males and 4 females per treatment) of 2 breeds, New Zealand White and a crossbred between New Zealand White and native breed. The rabbits had an average initial weight of 668 g, were about 6 weeks old and were housed in individual pens. The foliages were fed ad libitum and a commercial concentrate was fed at a restricted level of 2% of body weight on a dry matter (DM) basis. In the digestibility experiment, the rabbits, 4 per foliage and males only, were fed the same foliages as in the growth experiment but without concentrate. Daily weight gain was lower in the group fed Ruzi grass, 14.8 g/d (p<0.001) compared to 17.6, 18.5 and 18.4 g/d for head lettuce, Mimosa pigra and water spinach, respectively. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were lowest for the rabbits fed water spinach, 66 g DM/d and 3.6 kg DM/kg live weight, respectively. The New Zealand White breed had a higher daily gain than the crossbred rabbits (p<0.05), 18.0 and 16.7 g/d, respectively. There were no significant differences in feed intake, growth or feed conversion ratio due to sex. The digestibility coefficients of DM, organic matter, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were significantly lower (p<0.001) in the rabbits fed Ruzi grass. Breed and sex had no effect on digestibility. In conclusion, feeding head lettuce residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach resulted in higher growth rate and digestibility than feeding Ruzi grass and can be recommended as alternative feeds.

Effects of Different Foliages and Sugar Cane in the Diet in Late Pregnancy on Ewe and Lamb Performance

Van, Do Thi Thanh,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.6

Thirty mature pregnant ewes of the Phan Rang breed with an initial live weight of 30 to 45 kg were used to compare the effects of three different diets in late pregnancy on ewe and lamb performance. All diets contained 20% of whole sugar cane, 16% rice bran, 26% cassava root and 6% molasses urea block. The remaining 32% of dry matter consisted of Jackfruit (JF diet), 16% each of Jackfruit and Cassava foliage (JF+CS diet) or Jackfruit and Flemingia foliage (JF+FM diet). The diets were fed at 3.5% of actual BW of the individual animal. The foliages were offered at 120% of the amount decided in the diets of the requirements. The JF+CS diet resulted in significantly higher feed intake than the JF diet, and also a higher feed intake than the JF+FM diet, but this difference was not significant. The ewe weight changes during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy, or from start to 24 h after lambing, were significantly different. The highest weight gain was obtained from the ewes fed the JF+CS diet. Diets had no effect on weight changes of ewes during 3 weeks after lambing but a significant effect on the litter birth weight, with the JF+CS diet giving the highest litter birth weight. There was, however, no effect on the litter weight at 21 days or litter growth rate from birth to 21 days due to the experimental diets.

Effects of Feeding Wastes from Brassica Species on Growth of Goats and Pesticide/Insecticide Residues in Goat Meat

Ngu, Nguyen Trong,Ledin, Inger Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.2

The effects of feeding Brassica vegetable market wastes on intake, body weight changes and pesticide/insecticide residues in products of goats were evaluated in two experiments. In the first experiment (Exp. 1) 16 goats (Bach Thao, 9 to 10 kg, 3 months old, 9 males and 7 females) were fed four diets with leaves either from cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) or Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris subsp. pekinensis) with 30% of Para grass. The control group was fed 100% Para grass. All diets contained soybean waste as a supplement and the experiment lasted for 136 days. In the second experiment (Exp. 2) 24 goats (Bach Thao, 12 to 14 kg, all males) were assigned to three treatments in a completely randomised block design based on initial body weight. The goats were fed cabbage waste supplemented with 200 g or 100 g DM (dry matter) of concentrate. Para grass with 100 g DM concentrate supplementation was used as a control group. The experiment lasted for 90 days and at the end of the study, 12 goats were slaughtered for pesticide/insecticide analysis. Due to low DM content (5.3 and 3.7%, respectively) feed intakes of cabbage and Chinese cabbage groups were lower than those of other groups in the experiment. The highest feed intake and body weight gain was obtained when the goats were fed cauliflower (529 g DM/day and 87.5 g/day, respectively). In Exp. 2 total intake of cabbage and concentrate was similar (484 g and 453 g DM/day) whether the goats were fed 100 or 200 g concentrate/day but lower than that of Para grass and concentrate probably due to the low DM content of the cabbage (5.9%). Crude protein intake (79 g to 86 g/day) and body weight gain (70 g to 88 g/day) was not significantly different between treatments. Adding concentrate consequently resulted in higher DM intake than in Exp. 1 but did not result in any higher growth rate. Three of the pesticide/insecticide residues tested were found in cabbage, Alpha-Cypermethrin, Bassa-Fenobucarb and Dimethoate with levels of 0.175, 0.074 and 0.028 mg/kg fresh cabbage respectively. Weight of livers from goats fed cabbage was about 90 g higher than from goats fed Para grass but no pesticide/herbicide residues were found in meat or liver.

The Foliage of Flemingia (Flemingia macrophylla) or Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) as a Substitute for a Rice Bran - Soya Bean Concentrate in the Diet of Lactating Goats

Mui, Nguyen Thi,Ledin, Inger,Uden, Peter,Binh, Dinh Van Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.1

Ninety lactating goats (Bachthao, Barbary, Beetal and Jamnapary breeds) were used in an experiment to investigate the replacement value of the tree fodders Flemingia (Flemingia macrophylla) and Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). The foliages were used to replace the concentrate in diets based on chopped whole sugar cane (Sacharatum sp.), Para grass (Brachiaria mutica) and dried cassava root (Manihot esculanta). The concentrate was replaced by foliage of Jackfruit or Flemingia at 0%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% based on the crude protein (CP) content in the concentrate and foliages, respectively. Average milk yield was 1,617 g/day for goats fed Jackfruit compared to 1,532 g/day for those fed Flemingia. Increasing amounts of Flemingia foliage resulted in reduced dry matter intake and decreased milk yield but milk composition (CP, casein and fat content) was similar up to 60% replacement. Flemingia showed a poor potential as a supplement for lactating goats and replacement levels should not exceed 20% of the protein in the concentrate or 7.5% of the dry matter in the diet. With respect to the combination of milk production and net return over the control a CP replacement rate of 20% was the most promising. For Jackfruit there was similar feed intake and milk yield at a replacement level of 20% of CP in the concentrate (9.2% of DM intake) compared to the control diet. Milk yield at the level of 40% replacement (15% of the DM) in the diet was slightly reduced. Up to a level of CP replacement rate of 60% (21% DM in the diet) can be suggested for on-farm testing as a higher net return over the control was obtained on station.

Nitrogen Balance in Goats Fed Flemingia (Flemingia Macrophylla) and Jackfruit (Artocarpus Heterophyllus) Foliage Based Diets and Effect of a Daily Supplementation of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) on Intake and Digestion

Mui, Nguyen Thi,Ledin, Inger,Uden, Peter,Binh, Dinh Van Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.5

Diets with foliage of Flemingia (Flemingia macrophylla) or Jackfruit (Artocapus heterophyllus were fed to goats with the objective to study nitrogen (N) balance and effect of a daily supplementation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on intake and digestion. In experiment 1, three male Alpine${\times}$Jamnapary goats with initial weights varying from 26.9 to 27.7 kg were used in a $3{\times}3$ Latin square design in the dry season. Three Alpine${\times}$Bachthao crosses, 15.3-16.7 kg, were used in the same design in the wet season. The three diets were based on chopped whole sugar cane complemented with the two green foliages, Jackfruit and Flemingia, or soybean meal (SBM). The level of dry matter (DM) offered was 4% of body weight (BW), 2.7% as foliage and 1.3% as chopped whole sugar cane. The amount of SBM offered was calculated to give the same amount of crude protein (CP) as the foliages. Each experimental period lasted 32 days (14 days for adaptation, 7 days for collection and 10 days for rest). Feed intake, apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM), CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) and retained nitrogen (N) were measured by total faecal and urine collection. In experiment 2, four male goats (Alpine${\times}$Jamnapary) with initial weights from 17.1 to 23.1 kg were used in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. The four treatments were Jackfruit or Flemingia with or without addition of PEG, which was fed at a level of 5 g/goat and day by mixing with a small amount of rice bran. Each experimental period lasted 15 days (8 days for adaptation, 7 days for collection). Measurements were done as in experiment 1. The DM digestibility was highest (65.9-74.3%) for goats fed the SBM diet in both the dry and wet season. The DM digestibility of goats fed the Jackfruit and the Flemingia diets was similar in both the dry (58.6-59.2% respectively) and the wet season (53.9-56.1% respectively). The CP digestibility was highest (73.0-73.6%) for the SBM diet followed by the Jackfruit diet (47.0-38.5%) and was lowest (36.8-30.0%) for the Flemingia diet in both dry and wet seasons, respectively. The NDF digestibility was low for both the Jackfruit (36.4%) and Flemingia (38.0%) diets in the wet season. All diets resulted in a positive N balance. The N retention was highest (0.465-0.604 g/kg $W^{0.75}$) in the SBM diets and lowest (0.012-0.250 g/kg $W^{0.75}$) in the Flemingia diet. Addition of PEG had no effect on feed intake for any of the diets. PEG added in the Flemingia diet had a positive effect only on NDF digestibility, but the digestibility of the Jackfruit diet was significantly increased. Supplementation with PEG reduced digestibility and N retention of Flemingia, possibly because of the low tannin level, but increased digestibility and N retention for Jackfruit foliage.

Effect of Harvesting Frequency, Variety and Leaf Maturity on Nutrient Composition, Hydrogen Cyanide Content and Cassava Foliage Yield

Hue, Khuc Thi,Van, Do Thi Thanh,Ledin, Inger,Wredle, Ewa,Sporndly, Eva Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2012 Animal Bioscience Vol.25 No.12

The experiment studied the effect of harvesting frequencies and varieties on yield, chemical composition and hydrogen cyanide content in cassava foliage. Foliage from three cassava varieties, K94 (very bitter), K98-7 (medium bitter) and a local (sweet), were harvested in three different cutting cycles, at 3, 6 and 9 months; 6 and 9 months and 9 months after planting, in a 2-yr experiment carried out in Hanoi, Vietnam. Increasing the harvesting frequency increased dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) production in cassava foliage. The K94 variety produced higher foliage yields than the other two varieties. Dry matter, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and total tannin content increased with months to the first harvest, whereas CP content decreased. Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) content was lower at the first harvest than at later harvests for all cutting cycles. At subsequent harvests the content of total tannins tended to decline, while HCN content increased (p<0.05). Chemical composition differed somewhat across varieties except for total tannins and ash. Dry matter, NDF, ADF and total tannins were higher in fully matured leaves, while CP and HCN were lower in developing leaves.