Effects of Feeding Licury (Syagrus coronate) Cake to Growing Goats

The objectives of this study were to determine the highest inclusion of licury (Syagrus coronate) cake in the diet of growing Boer goats without adverse effects on intake and digestibility and to determine its effects on ingestive behavior and physiological responses. Twenty entire, one year old 3/4 Boer goats, 18.1 kg (DS = 2.2) average body weight (BW), were allocated to dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. Each animal was confined in a $1.0\;m^2$ pen with a suspended floor and given ad libitum access to clean, fresh water. Diets were formulated to meet NRC (2007) requirements and the ingredients were: 50% of Tifton-85 (Cynodon sp.) hay, corn meal, soybean meal, mineral and vitamin premix, and licury cake. The treatments were: i) no addition of licury cake to the diet, ii) 15% (DM basis) addition of licury cake, iii) 30% licury cake and, iv) 45% licury cake. The experiment lasted for 17 days; the first 10 days were used to adapt the animals to the diets and facilities. The inclusion of licury cake increased the fiber concentration of the diets; however, there was no effect on either dry matter (DM) or organic matter (OM) intake. There was a linear increase (p<0.05) in the EE content of the diet as the addition of licury cake increased; however, EE intake did not differ (p>0.05) between treatments. The digestibility of non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) decreased with increasing inclusion of licury cake, as did NFC intake. The efficiency of ingestion of DM and NDF presented a negative quadratic effect with the inclusion of licury cake. Results from this study indicate that licury cake can be fed to goats at up to 45% of the diet without adverse effects on either intake or digestibility.