At Los Vilos Subexperiment Station (INIA, Chile, 31°52' Lat. S; 71°28' Long. W), creole goats were supplemented with alfalfa hay during pre-kidding period under drought condition. Forty creole goats were asigned to four treatment according to kidding date, in a completely randomized designo The treatments were I. 0; II. 0.6; III. 1.2 and IV. 1.8 kg of hay/goat/day. The supplemented feeding started 58 days before kidding and finnished three days after kidding. Hay intake, body weight, body condition, milk production and kid bodyweightwere evaluated. The protein intake was 0,51.8,92.1 and 105.3% and the energy was 0, 33.4, 56.2 and 75.8% of the goats pregnancy requirement (NRC, 1981) for treatments I, II, III and IV, respectively. Body weight was significatly different (P < 0.01) during the last 4th. days of pregnancy. Body condition was different (P < 0.05) the last 32th days of pregnancy, being 2.44, 2.53, 2.90 and 2.94 at weaning. No residual effect on body weight and body condition was found (P > 0.05). Milk production three days afier kidding was different (P < 0.01) and were 0.331,0.521,0.758 and 1.019 L/goat for treatment I to IV, respectively. Later milk evaluations and kid body weight were not different (P > 0.05), althouth suplemented groups presented higher responses. The alfalfa hay suplementation increased the body condition and produced a residual milk production effect. |
ChileanJAR
