• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1594-1599
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• 2005

The effects of long-term feeding of diets based on bermudagrass hay supplemented with lucerne hay cube (LH) or fermented bagasse feed (FBF) on the growth rate, feed efficiency, behaviour, gut development, carcass characteristics and meat quality of goats were investigated. Six spring-born 8-month-old male crossbred (Japanese Saanen${\times}$Tokara native goats) bucks weighing mean 21.6 kg were allotted to 2 treatment groups (3 animals each) and each animal had ad libitum access to feeds, i.e. bermudagrass hay (basal diet)+LH or FBF throughout the experiment. The FBF was produced by the solid-state fermentation of substrates containing dried sugarcane bagasse mixed with wheat bran in a ratio of 1:3 (w/w DM) with Aspergillus sojae. The live body weight, final weight and average daily gain were not different between treatments. Average basal diet intake of goats fed FBF diet was significantly higher than that fed LH diet (p<0.05), but average dry matter intake (DMI; g/day and g/$W^{0.75}$), feed conversion ratio, digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) intake of experimental diets were not significantly different between treatments. Goats fed on LH and FBF diets had similar eating, rumination, resting and drinking behaviours, and blood constituents except for phosphorus content. Slaughter and carcass weights, net meat percentage [(total meat/carcass weight)${\times}$100], loin ratio [(loin/total meat)${\times}$100] and rib-eye area were not different between treatments. However, goats fed FBF diet had lower dressing percentage and higher bone/muscle ratio compared with goats fed LH diet (p<0.01). Empty gut and guts fill of goats fed FBF diet were significantly greater (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively) than those fed LH diet. The weights of rumen and abomasum were also significantly heavier in goats fed FBF diet (p<0.05), but the length and density of papillae of rumen in goats were not different between treatments. Although meat composition of loin was not different in both groups, the meat of goats fed FBF diet was superior to that of LH diet in flavor, aroma and overall quality of loin (p<0.01). In conclusion, the nature of the diet consumed voluntarily did not affect subsequent growth, nutrient intake and behaviour of goats but had an influence on carcass traits and sensory evaluation of meat partly, when either of LH or FBF was fed with bermudagrass hay.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1279-1284
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• 2005

The effects of 3 different strains of Japanese koji (Aspergillus oryzae, A. sojae and A. awamori) in the solid-state fermentation (SSF) of sugarcane bagasse mixed with wheat bran on chemical composition, energy, in vivo digestibility and preference of the fermented bagasse feeds (FBF) in goats were investigated. Diets consisted of lucerne hay cube (basal diet) and unfermented bagasse feed (control), FBF with A. oryzae (O), FBF with A. sojae (S) or FBF with A. awamori (A), which were mixed in a total ration of 7:3 (w/w DM). Three Nubian does were fed each of the diets, i.e. control, O, S and A in the 4 consecutive periods for digestion trials (21-day each). The goats were also used for preference trials (30-min each) of O, S and A. The O was significantly higher in CP content than others (p<0.05). The crude fiber (CF), ADF and cellulose contents of control were significantly lower than those of other diets (p<0.05). The S had significantly higher CF digestibility than control (p<0.05), and it revealed the largest value of all. Digestibilities of NDF, ADF and cellulose in S were significantly higher than those of control (about 10, 18 and 18%, respectively, p<0.05). The DE of S was significantly higher than that of others (p<0.05), though there were no significant differences in DCP and TDN between control and S. The results of preference trials demonstrated that the average intake rate was not significantly different among diets, but O and S are likely to be preferable to A (p<0.1). It was concluded that the SSF of bagasse feeds by Japanese koji can improve the fiber digestion, especially NDF, ADF or cellulose in goats, and there is a marked effect in the feed containing A. sojae, which may lead to the improvement of DE.