Integral farming systems using goats as the base: quail manure as a feeding protein source to post weaning goat kids

Abstract

The Center for the Development of Sheep and Goat Production (CEFOPROCA) seeks, through guided actions, to transform the mono producer traditional systems into small integral farming systems, with the purpose of improving the productivity of the systems and also the nutritional level of rural communities. The Center is at 30 m.o.s.l., with an average of annual rain fall between 900 and 1100 mm, temperature of 27°C 89% of humidity, and it inovolves a red of five production units. To low production cost the quail manure fed as protein source to post weaning goat kids was evaluated. Twelve kids randomly selected were fed with 150 g of yucca flour (Manihot esculenta, Crants) + 150 g of quail manure (TI), and another group of equal number with 300 g of commercial concentrated (TII), both groups pastured in pens of Brachiaria decumbens. The yucca and the quail manure were blended and milled together previous to the supply. The animals were weighed at the beginning of the experiment and after two weeks of adaptation to fixed intervals of 15 days. The amount consumed for feeding groups was determined by the difference among offered minus refused. The Proc GLM of SAS was used for the analysis and the model included treatment: TI and TII; sex: males and females; trial period (DEE): 0, 15,..., 90; treatment x DEE; and initial body weight as (co) variable. The least square means of average daily gain were of 0.053 ± 0.003 vs. 0.087 ± 0.003 kg for TI and TII respectively, and they varied significantly among treatments during the test period. The greatest difference of 0.050 ± 0.01 kg (P<0.05) was observed at the day 30, decreasing to 0.030 ± 0.01 kg (P<0.05) by the end of trial. Part of the difference among treatments is associated to differences in consumption. More research is needed, given the economic importance of fodder resources for the local production units.