Assessment of Goats Performance Fed Varying Levels of Chopped Palm Fronds Supplemented with Concentrate Diets

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats fed diets with varying levels of chopped palm fronds supplemented with a concentrate diet. The objectives were to analyze the proximate nutrient composition, evaluate feed intake, assess weight gain, and determine the feed conversion ratio (FCR) across different feeding regimens. Twenty goats with an initial body weight of 6.23-6.45 kg were assigned to five treatments in a completely randomized design: T1 (100% concentrate), T2 (20% palm frond + 80% concentrate), T3 (40% palm frond + 60% concentrate), T4 (60% palm frond + 40% concentrate), and T5 (80% palm frond + 20% concentrate), The concentrate diet consisted of 40% pullet droppings, 20.5% wheat offal, 23.5% palm kernel cake, 5% limestone, 1% salt, and 10% Alfa-Safe, was fed for 12 weeks. Results showed significant differences (p<0.05) in growth performance. Goats on T3 achieved the highest final body weight (9.35 kg), total body weight gain (3.25 kg), and average daily weight gain (0.05 kg), with the best FCR (5.91). Total feed intake did not differ significantly (p>0.05) across treatments, ranging from 26.17 to 28.51 kg. The findings suggest that a diet of 40% palm frond and 60% concentrate optimizes growth performance and feed efficiency in WAD goats, offering a balanced and cost-effective feeding strategy for goat production.