Effect of Soybean Milk as a Milk Substitute with or without Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Tonic on Growth Performance of Sangamneri Goat Kids
S. B. Jadhav *
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
U. S. Gaikwad
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
S. A. Dhage
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
U. S. Gaikwad
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
R. G. Nimase
Veterinary Polyclinic and AI Centre, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
S. D. Shinde
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A feeding study evaluated soybean milk as a partial or complete substitute for goat milk, with or without alfalfa (Medicago sativa) tonic, in Sangamneri goat kids. Twenty-five kids were allocated to five treatments (five per group): T0, goat milk alone; T1, 50% goat milk and 50% soybean milk; T2, the same blend with alfalfa tonic; T3, soybean milk alone; and T4, soybean milk with alfalfa tonic. The study comprised a 15-day transition period followed by 75 days of experimental feeding. Over the 75-day feeding period, mean milk intake ranged from 36.075 L (T3) to 40.875 L (T0). Final mean live weights were 9.306, 8.898, 9.121, 6.590, and 7.660 kg for T0 through T4, respectively. The corresponding mean daily live-weight gains, calculated from treatment-level gains, were 98.37, 92.83, 95.77, 62.19, and 76.69 g/day. Numerically, the combination of 50% goat milk and 50% soybean milk with alfalfa tonic was associated with growth values near those of the whole-goat-milk group, whereas the soybean-milk-only treatment had the lowest mean gain. These descriptive findings do not establish treatment equivalence or a causal effect of the tonic because individual-animal statistical outputs, tonic dosing details, and complete nutrient-intake data were unavailable.
Keywords: Sangamneri goat kids, soybean milk, milk substitution, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) tonic, artificial rearing, live-weight gain, milk intake