Energy utilization for gain of goat kids

Abstract

The total energy body content is based on protein and fat deposition in growing animals, which can be strongly influenced by gender. In this regard, the accretion rate of protein and fat could be helpful for understanding the efficiency of utilization of metabolizable energy (ME) to net energy (NE) for growth (k_g). Previous studies in cattle have found differences in the partial efficiency of use of metabolizable energy (ME) to net energy (NE) for growth between gender, which was 0.54 for bulls, 0.47 for steers and 0.54 for heifers (Chizzotti et al., 2007). However there is a lack of information in this regard with goats. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the gender on fat and protein deposition in the gain and on energy efficiency for growth in Saanen goat kids.