ABSTRACT
Borkar, A.M., Deshpande, K.Y., Vedpathak, A., Patil, M.R., Gore, S.M., Ingole, R.S., Panchbhai, G.J. and Kuralkar, P.S. 2024. Effect of garlic essential oil supplementation on performance, milk yield and economics in lactating berari goats. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 24: 461-476.
In this experiment, twelve lactating goats of similar age, body weight (31.48±1.18 kg) and lactation (2nd to 3rd) were selected and divided into control (T0) and treatment (T1) groups, having six animals each for 90 d. The animals were fed as per ICAR (2013) standards, where T0 were fed basal diet and T1 were fed basal diet along with 1 g/goat/d garlic essential oil powder mixed in concentrate mixture. The weekly DMI (g/d) were comparable (P>0.05), however crude protein digestibility increased significantly (P<0.05) in T1. The weekly body weight changes (kg) and milk yield (ml) were not affected (P>0.05), however milk components like lactose (%) and density of milk increased significantly (P<0.05) in T1. Rumen fermentation parameters like pH and titrable acidity decreased significantly (P<0.05) in T1; while TVFA concentration, bacterial and protozoal count were comparable (P>0.05) among the groups. The calculated methane emission (g/kg DMI) did not differ significantly (P>0.05). Monthly faecal egg count decreased significantly (P<0.05) in T1. The CMI response was significantly better (P<0.05) at 0 and 96 h post PHA-p injection in T1. The feed cost (₹/litre) of milk yield reduced in T1 (₹ 48.18) along with significant reduction in feed cost/litre milk production than T0 (₹ 61.95). Hence, it is concluded that the garlic oil supplementation at 1g/goat/d improved animal performance, and cost economics of milk production in lactating Berari goats.
Keywords: Berari goats, Digestibility, Garlic essential oil, Milk yield, Rumen fermentation parameters
*Corresponding author: kuldeepdeshpande@mafsu.in