Effects Of Natural Licks On Feed Intake,Nutrient Digestibility, Milk Productionand Quality In Kenya Alpine Dairy Goatration

Abstract

Consumption of natural licks is common among domestic animals under natural circumstances,and as a substitute to commercial mineral licks among smallholder livestock keepers in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya, with a believe that animals obtain potential nutritional benefits. However,this has never been established through an experimental research using natural licks from thestudy area. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining feed intake, nutrient digestibility andmilk production performance in dairy goats fed on natural licks. Four lactating Kenya AlpineDairy Goats (KADG) in their second lactation stage and weighing 47.5 ± 3 kg were randomlyassigned four treatment diets that consisted of three natural licks from Kang’au, Nagundu andKabariange, and a standard commercial lick (control) in a 4 by 4 Latin square design. A basaldiet of Boma Rhodes grass hay and a standard concentrate were fed to the animals, and feedintake, fecal output and milk yield were measured. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)model was used for the lick intake, nutrient intake, and apparent digestibility and milk parameters.Correlation analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between natural lick sourcesand milk parameters. There was no significant difference on dry matter intake, nutrient intake,apparent digestibility and milk yield and quality (P > 0.05) among goats consuming natural lickscompared to commercial lick. However, there was a positive correlation (r) with a value of 0.70between milk production and lick intake. Natural licks can be an alternative source of mineralsupplementation where commercial mineral licks are not available