Aim: The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of
concentrate supplementation to the pregnant Ganjam goats on their growth
performance in periparturient period.
Materials and Methods: A total of
45 pregnant Ganjam does of similar body weight, age and parity were divided into
three treatment groups with 15 does in each. T1: normal browsing at range
system, T2: normal browsing with concentrate supplementation @ 200g/day, T3:
normal browsing with concentrate supplementation @ 300g/day for 60 days before
expected date of kidding. Observations regarding various growth performances
were made following standard procedures.
Results: Average daily
concentrate feed intake for T2 was 160 g and 225 g for T3. For the does in T1,
the body weights ranged from 34.59 ± 0.75 kg (at the beginning) to 38.29 ± 0.75
kg (after 60 days of supplementation) while for those in T2 it increased from
33.91 ± 0.70 kg to 38.71 ± 0.64 kg and for T3 it ranged from 34.05 ± 0.64 to
39.55 ± 0.62 kg. The cumulative live weight gain during the period 0-60 days
varied significantly among the different treatments with the lowest value in T1
(3.71 ± 0.27 kg) to highest value in T3 (5.49 ± 0.22 kg) although the initial
body weights were same. The cumulative body weight gain during 0-90 days
postpartum was significantly higher in T1 (3.13 ± 0.46 kg) compared to T3 (2.10
± 0.19 kg). Significant difference in average daily gain during prepartum period
was found in all groups as 61.78 ± 4.47, 79.89 ± 2.20, 91.56 ± 3.71 for T1, T2,
and T3 respectively. The average daily gain of the does during post partum
period was 23.33 g (T3), 24.30 g (T2) and 34.81 g (T1) per doe indicating a
statistically significant difference among the treatments.
Conclusion: It
is concluded that on supplementation of concentrate between 160 to 225 g
improved both prepartum and postpartum body condition of Ganjam goats.
Keywords: body weight, concentrate, Ganjam goat, pregnant
