Authors : I.J. Ruiz-Garcia, J.R. Orozco-Hernandez and C. Garcia de la Pena
Abstract: Agave plant is the main ingredient for tequila manufacturing mainly due to sugar content of the core which is cooked before juices extraction, the solid waste (pulp) obtained may be used in animal feeding. Nine lactating dairy goats were blocked by production level and used to assess three substitution rates (0, 25 or 50%, dry matter basis) of agave pulp instead forage in the diet. Animals were individually lodged and feed ad libitum, fresh tap water was offered daily. The trial was 21 days long and the last week was used for sample collection, measurements of intake, milk yield and milk quality. The goats were weighted at the beginning and at the end of the trial. Feed intake averaged 2.41 kg day-1 and was not affected by the level of pulp (p>0.05). Milk yield augmented 34% with the 50% of agave pulp in the feed (p<0.05) but percentage of nutrient was unaltered (p>0.05), however the nutrient daily production of protein and lactose was increased (p<0.05). Body weight and back fat were similar among treatments (p>0.05). Based on the finding, it could be concluded that the pulp can substitute corn stover in dairy goat without affecting animal health and performance.
I.J. Ruiz-Garcia, J.R. Orozco-Hernandez and C. Garcia de la Pena, 2012. Inclusion of Tequilana Agave Pulp in Dairy Goat Feed. Agricultural Journal, 7: 414-415.