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Title: Growth of lambs and meat goat kids grazing warm season grasses with or without protein supplement

Author
item NUSZ, S. - REDLANDS COMUN. COLLEGE
item WALKER, E - MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
item Brown, Michael

Submitted to: American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2007
Publication Date: 2/2/2008
Citation: Nusz, S., Walker, E.L., Brown, M.A. Growth of lambs and meat goat kids grazing warm season grasses with or without protein supplement [abstract]. Southern Section of American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, February 2-5, 2008. p. 28.

Interpretive Summary: Abstract Only.

Technical Abstract: Grazing provides most nutrients for normal physiological function in ruminants, however; there are times when nutritional needs of the animals exceed the nutritional quality of forages. Bermudagrass is an economically important grass grown on pastures throughout the South and Midwest, however; it may be insufficient in crude protein to meet the demands of lambs and meat goat kids, particularly after late June. The objectives of this study were to test the effects of protein supplementation on growth of lambs and kids grazing 1.22 ha Bermudagrass pastures. Boer influenced (BI) and Savanna x Spanish (SP) kids (n = 10 and 13; respectively) and Katahdin (KK), Katahdin x Suffolk (KS), Suffolk x Katahdin (SK), and Suffolk (SS) lambs (n = 23, 14, 14, and 21; respectively) were grouped by weight, breed, and sex and randomly assigned to one of two forage treatments #1) Common bermudagrass supplemented with a 21% natural protein block (n=2) and 2) Common bermudagrass with no supplement (n=2). Animals were weighed every two weeks for the 62 day duration of the study. Sheep had greater ADG than goats (82 ± 6 g/d vs 43 ± 9 g/d; P=0.0001).Protein supplementation increased ADG of the BI kids (68 ± 22 g/d vs 27 ± 9 g/d; P=0.12) but not SP kids (40 ± 12 g/d vs 36 ± 16 g/d; P= 0.82). Numerically, protein supplementation benefited SS x KK (98 ± 13 vs 80 ±14; P = 0.34), and SS (72 ± 10 vs 58 ± 12; P = 0.38) but not KK (88 ± 10 vs 86 ± 11; P = 0.87)or KK x SS (84 ± 11 vs 88 ± 15; P = 0.82).Katahdin, normally considered a breed with less genetic growth potential than SS, had higher ADG (P = 0.06) with no supplement. However, with protein supplementation, differences between KK and SS was smaller (P = 0.16). Results of this research suggest that protein supplementation on common bermudagrass may be beneficial for those breed groups of goats or sheep with highest growth potential. During the timeframe of the study, there were 29 continuous days of rainfall which may have affected performance. Keywords: Sheep, Goats, bermudagrass, postweaning, forage