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. 2020 Jan 16;10(1):151.
doi: 10.3390/ani10010151.

Effects of Decreasing Dietary Crude Protein Level on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestion, Serum Metabolites, and Nitrogen Utilization in Growing Goat Kids (Capra hircus)

Wen Zhu  1 , Wei Xu  1 , Congcong Wei  1 , Zijun Zhang  1 , Chunchao Jiang  2 , Xingyong Chen  1
Affiliations

Effects of Decreasing Dietary Crude Protein Level on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestion, Serum Metabolites, and Nitrogen Utilization in Growing Goat Kids (Capra hircus)

Wen Zhu et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The effects of decreasing dietary crude protein (CP) level on growth performance, nutrient digestion, serum metabolites, and nitrogen utilization in growing goat kids were investigated in the current study. Thirty-six male Anhui white goat kids were randomly assigned to one of three CP content diets: 14.8% (control), 13.4%, and 12.0% of dry matter, respectively. Diets were isoenergetic. The experiment lasted for 14 weeks, with the first two weeks being for adaptation. Results showed that the low-CP diet decreased average daily gain, feed efficiency, digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and fiber. No significant changes were observed in dry-matter intake. With a decrease in dietary CP level, fecal nitrogen excretion (% of nitrogen intake) increased linearly, whereas CP intake, blood urea nitrogen, urinary nitrogen excretion (% of nitrogen intake), and total nitrogen excretion (% of nitrogen intake) decreased. Serum glucose concentration decreased, while concentrations of low-density lipoproteins and non-esterified fatty acids increased with the low-CP diet. In conclusion, decreasing the dietary CP level decreased goats' nitrogen excretion, but with restrictive effects on growth performance. A diet containing 13.4% CP is optimal for reducing nitrogen excretion without any adverse effect on growth performance of Anhui white goat kids. This concentration is 1.4% points lower than the NRC recommendations and thus is also environmentally beneficial on the input side because it decreases the use of feed (soy) protein.

Keywords: Anhui white goat; crude protein; growth performance; nitrogen utilization; nutrient digestion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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