NUTRITIVE EVALUATION OF PALM-KERNEL CAKE AS REPLACEMENT FOR CONVENTIONAL CONCENTRATE IN SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING OF THE GOAT

Abstract

A total of 25 WAD growing male goats with live weight ranging from 7 to 8.2kg were used in a completely randomized experiment to access the efficiency of palm kernel cake (PKC) replacing the conventional concentrate as supplements in a diet based on grass silage. Five levels of PKC (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) were incorporated in conventional concentrate. There were 5 goats per treatment. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. Parameters of evaluation were the chemical composition of the supplements, weight change and feed efficiency. The result indicated that chemical composition of the supplements varied as the PKC replaced conventional concentrate (P<0.05). The weight gain increased (P<0.05) with inclusion of PKC while the feed conversion were similar (P>0.05) between the groups of animals fed sole PKC and sole conventional concentrate supplement. It was concluded that PKC from point of its characteristics and nutrient content is considered suitable to improve the performance of goats when fed as supplement.