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Bacillus spp.-fermented mixture in goat starter diets on growth performance, blood, and carcass and gastrointestinal traits

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of incorporating Bacillus spp.-fermented mixture (FM; 55% soybean meal and 45% feather meal) in the starter feed of goat kids, specifically its effects on growth performance, blood profile, carcass characteristics, and gastrointestinal traits; the FM protein profile was also evaluated. Seventy-five four-week-old male dairy goat kids were randomly assigned to three different starter diet groups containing B, D, or J strains of 5% Bacillus spp. FM (BG, DG, and JG), a commercial starter diet group (CG), and a starter diet group without FM (NG). During the starter phase (0-6 weeks), the average daily gain was higher in JG and BG goats than in the NG, with the average daily gain and feed conversion in BG found to be best at 6-8 weeks. Furthermore, the intestinal villi and papillae height in the ventral and dorsal sac of BG goats were higher than those in the other groups. The SDS-PAGE analysis of the FM samples further indicated that low molecular weight peptides in FM significantly increased after fermentation. Thus, using a suitable Bacillus sp. to ferment soybean and feather meals can increase the available nutrients. Taken together, these results indicate that adding 5% Bacillus spp.-fermented soybean and feather meal mixture to a starter feed is a feasible option to improve the growth performance of goat kids, without negatively impacting their health.

Keywords:
feather meal; fermentation; soybean; small ruminant

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