Effect of concentrate supplementation levels on growth and slaughter characteristics of SEA and SEA x Norwegian goats under on-farm conditions

A 2 x 3 factorial experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of goat genotypes and different concentrate levels on growth and slaughter characteristics of Small East African x Norwegian crossbred (SEA x N) and Small East African (SEA) goats. The three concentrate levels were T0 (no access to concentrate), T66 (66 % access to ad libitum concentrate allowance) and T100 (100 % access to ad libitum concentrate allowance). Twenty-four castrated goats of each genotype (18 months old with an average weight of 16.7 +/- 0.54 kg) were randomly allotted into T0, T66 and T100 treatments. Daily feed intake and fortnight body weight measurements were recorded for the whole 84-day experimental period, after which the animals were slaughtered. Feed intake of T100 animals was 536 g/day, which was 183 g/day higher than that of the T66 group. Supplemented goats (T66 and T100) had significantly (P < 0.05) higher daily gain and body condition score, and better feed conversion efficiency and dressing percentage than T0 goats. The SEA goats had higher (P < 0.05) hot carcass weight (8.2 vs. 7.9 kg) and showed better (P < 0.05) dressing percentage than SEA x N animals. Among supplemented goats, the cost of a 1-kg gain under T66 was Tshs 213/= cheaper than T100 (US$1 a parts per thousand aEuro parts per thousand Tshs 1,500). It is concluded that goats should be grazed and supplemented with 353 g concentrate/day for satisfactory fattening performance and higher economic return on investment.