책임운영기관 농촌진흥청 국립축산과학원 (로고)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different feeding levels of domesticated barnyard millet and imported Bermuda hay on the growth performance and structural development of female and male growing goats. A 4&#x00D7;4 Latin square design was used, involving 8 goats with an average age of 3 months: 4 females and males with an initial body weight (BW) of 10.6 kg and 16.0 kg, respectively. Goats were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments: T1 (1.5% BW barnyard millet), T2 (1.5% BW Bermuda hay), T3 (2.0% BW barnyard millet), and T4 (2.0% BW Bermuda hay) over a 22-week period. Results indicated that the highest final body weight (FBW) was significantly observed at the highest feeding level (T4), with females reaching 14.9 kg and males 20.9 kg, while the highest average daily gain (ADG) values were recorded for females in T3 at 75.7 g/d and males in T4 at 81.0 g/d (p<0.05). Dry matter intake (DMI) was highest in the T4 group for both females (437.4 g/d) and males (635.9 g/d), with significant differences observed across treatments (p<0.05), whereas the feed conversion ratio (FCR) showed an improving trend, particularly with a value of 6.0 for females in T4. For structural development, the highest feeding levels led to significant increases in body length, body depth, chest width, and chest girth of both sex. Female and male in T4 achieved body lengths of 53.5 cm and 61.8 cm, and body depths of 45.2 cm and 54.8 cm, respectively. Chest width and girth reached 15.9 cm and 66.5 cm in males, and 13.5 cm and 56.5 cm in females. In conclusion, higher feeding levels, especially with Bermuda hay, may positively influence the growth performance and structural development of goats.