Resumen de Intake and apparent digestibility of rations based on foliage of tropical leguminous trees, ammoniated rices straw, and corn byproducts for goats in confinement

Gustavo Enrique Nouel Borges, Monica Josefina Prado Ortega, Francisco Fernando Villasmil Graterol, Jose Jesus Rincon Gonzalez, Miguel Alejandro Espejo Díaz

• The consumption and apparent digestibility of rations containing foliage of four arboreal legume species, Acacia macrantha (Am), A. tamarindifolia (At), A. glomerosa (Ag) and Leucaena leucocephala (Ll), in mixture with ammoniated rice straw (ARS) and corn byproducts meal (CBM), were evaluated using eight growing female Creole goats of mean body weights 20.5 kg, housed in metabolic stalls. The experimental design was an 8 x 8 latin square with a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement of the factors: 1) legume species and 2) level of foliage inclusion: 18.75 and 37.5% in the ration dry matter (DM). The experiment was divided into eight periods of 14 days each (7 for adaptation and 7 for measurement of consumption and total feces collection). The eight treatments (rations) included 25% (CBM) in all cases, and 56.25% ARS in combination with 18.75% foliage of Am, At, Ag, and Ll in T1, T3, T5 and T7; or 37.5% ARS in combination with 37.5% of the four respective legumes in T2, T4, T6, and T8. Rations containing AM (T1 + T2) and AG (T3 + T6) showed a tendency toward higher DM intake than T3 + T4 and T7 + T8 (1050 and 980 vs. 836 and 882 g/day), respectively, P<0.1011). Digestibility results followed the same pattern for DM (82 and 83 vs. 77 and 80%, P<0.008), fiber insoluble in acid detergent, and hemicellulose (HC). Rations with the lower level of legume combined, tended to give higher DM intake (987 vs. 889 g/day) and surpassed (P<0.05) those with higher legume level in digestibility of all the chemical fractions mentioned except HC (Sp).