Effects of Different Levels of Yucca Schidigera Added to Zaraibi Dairy Goats' Diet on Growth Performance , Some Rumen and Blood Parameters

ABSTRACTThe study aimed to determine the effect of supplementing concentrate feed offered to Zaraibi dairy goats with Yucca schidigera extract on growth performance and some rumen and blood parameters. Twenty-four Zaraibi dairy goats over 3 years old and averaged 34.49±2.15 kg body weight were used. The animals were allocated into three equal groups (8 each). The first group served as control (R1) which fed the basal ration. The second group (R2) fed the basal diet plus 250 mg/h/d Yucca Schidigera extract (YSP) in the form of bolus as a single dose while the third group fed the basal diet plus 500 mg YSP/h/d. The basal ration consisted of 60% concentrate feed mixture (CFM) + 40% roughage (berseem hay, BH and rice straws, RS). Dry matter intake, average body weight gained and feed conversion efficiency were estimated. The obtained results elucidated that R2 and R3 had (P 0.05) improvement in other weights compared to R1. Yucca schidigera supplementation decreased significantly ruminal ammonia nitrogen concentration during all the experimentation period (P<0.05).