Effect of urea-treated or untreated straw with cotton seed on performances of lactating Maradi (Red Sokoto) goats in Niger

Thirty Maradi (Red Sokoto) does were divided into three equal groups and followed during the first eight weeks of lactation. Each group was offered one of the following Schizachyrium exile based diets: untreated straw (UNTS), urea-treated straw (UTS), and untreated straw + 400 g of cotton seed (UNTS + CS). Feed intake, milk yield, milk fat, milk protein and live weight were monitored weekly. The mean dry matter and energy intake (DMI) of UNTS + CS group was higher than that of UNTS and the UTS groups (P < 0.001). Animals fed supplementary cottonseed consumed less straw. There was no significant difference in the intake of urea-treated and untreated straw in spite of the higher digestibility of urea-treated straw. The average milk yield (on the reference day) was 2.73±0.25, 3.11±0.37 and 3.14±0.32 kg for UNTS, UTS and UNTS + CS groups, respectively. The high energy intake of UNTS + CS, compared to two other groups, was not reflected in milk production. The milk fat percentage was 3.63, 3.62 and 5.21 for UNTS, UTS and UNTS + CS groups, respectively. The milk protein percentage was 4.34, 4.53 and 3.91 for UNTS, UTS and UNTS + CS groups, respectively. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant difference in fat (P < 0.001) and protein (P < 0.01) content but not in the milk yield of three groups. All groups lost weight, but the UNTS group lost more weight than the other two groups (P < 0.001). It is concluded that the urea-treated straw may be an appropriate feed for lactating Maradi does. Untreated straw supplemented with cotton seed also has an advantage over untreated straw alone