Growth response of goat (capra hircus) fed with leguminous- tree leaves

The growth response of goats fed with fresh leguminous tree leaves was studied in a 30-day feeding trial. Twelve mature goats were distributed equally in four treatments: T1 - 100% Brachiaria mutica+ 200g concentrate mix, T2 - 60% B. mutica+ 40% Leucaena leucocephala leaves + 200g concentrate mix, T3 - 60% B. mutica + 40% Gliricidia sepium leaves + 200g concentrate mix, and T4 - 60% B. mutica+ 40% Indigofera sp. leaves + 200g concentrate mix. The study was laid-out in Completely Randomized Design and the data was analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). At the end of the feeding trial, the final weight of the animals showed a significant difference (p<0.05) among treatments, in which animals fed with T2 gained the highest at 26.67 kg; however no significant differences were noted gain in weight (4.33 kg to 5.33 kg) and computed FCR (6.19-6.94) and FCE (12.52-20.08). It is therefore concluded that the experimental animals best responded to Treatment 2 or the ration of combined B. mutica and L. leucocephala.