Studies on feeding systems for the development of production strategies for goats in Bangladesh

The nutritive values of feeds and their effect on the growth of goats were investigated for the development of feeding and management strategies in Bangladesh. Goats are mostly raised by landless farmers and in the farm situation suffer from chronic parasitic infestation. Regular deworming resulted in increased growth rates. Goats utilized grasses that were harvested before the monsoon more efficiently and supplementation of Mashkalai bran increased liveweight gain to 57 g/d. The annual herbage mass production appeared to be low. There was no economic advantage in feeding supplements to achieve a target weight in this overstocked and heavily grazed land. (author). 16 refs, 8 tabs