Performance of West African Dwarf Goats fed maize stover based diet supplemented with Roxazyme G2®in the dry season in Abeokuta, Nigeria

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of exogenous fibrolytic enzyme additive (containing cellulase, xylanase and beta glucanase) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility parameters of West African dwarf (WAD) goats fed total mixed ration in the dry season. A total of sixteen (16) WAD goats were subjected to a 70-day feeding trial in a completely randomized design. A total mixed ration was formulated with enzyme added at 0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6g/kg DM. Feed intake and weight changes of the goats were monitored. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization were also determined. Enzyme additive significantly (P<0.05) improved daily feed intake and weight gain of the goats. The best feed conversion ratio (8.34) was obtained at 0.4g/kg DM enzyme inclusion level. Crude protein digestibility was also highest (81.01%) at 0.0.4g/kg DM enzyme inclusion level. The enzyme could be included in a total mixed ration for West African Dwarf goats at 0.4g/kg DM for improved feed intake, weight gain and nutrient digestibility.Keywords: Dry season, Growth performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Total mixed ratio