Effect of total mixed ration containing oil palm frond silage as a source of roughage mixed with fibrolytic enzyme on growth performance and carcass characteristics of goat

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of total mixed ration (TMR) containing oil palm frond silage (OPFS) as a source of roughage mixed with fibrolytic enzyme on feed intake, growth performance and carcass characteristics of goats. Sixteen male Bore x Thai native goats, 10-12 months old with average live weight 13.37±1.40 kg, were used in this study. Goats were allotted according to completely randomized design to receive TMR diet containing OPFS (roughage) to concentrate ratio at 60:40 (on a DM basis) and mixed with fibrolytic enzyme at 0 (control) (T1), 2 (T2), 4 (T3) and 6 (T4) g/kg DM of TMR. All diets were fed ad libitum to goats for 90 days. From the results, goats received non-supplemented (T1) and supplemented with fibrolytic enzyme (T2 to T4) had similar dry matter feed intake (P>0.05) with a range of 440.39-465.16 g/day. In addition, there were no significant differences (P>0.05) among treatments regarding final live weight (17.08-18.45 kg) and average daily gain (41.11-57.78 grams/day). After slaughter, fibrolytic enzymes supplementation had no significant effects on carcass weight, dressing percentage, meat percentage, fat percentage and bone percentage (P>0.05).