Influence of baobab fruit in the diet on intake, milk yield and milk composition in Red Sokoto goats

Baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata) is a nutritious but grossly underutilized food resource with great potentials for improving the productivity of milking goats in Nigeria. Twenty four Red Sokoto goats fed diets containing 0, 10, 20 and 30% baobab pulp and seed meal (BPSM) were used to evaluate the influence of baobab fruit on yield and composition of goat milk. The experimental design adopted was the completely randomized design. Animals were exercised daily inside a fenced paddock where they had access to forage. Dry matter (DM) intake, milk yield, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and milk composition in the goats were measured over a period of 84 days. There were significant (P<0.05) differences in intake, milk yield and FCR of the goats. DM intake increased from 21.5 to 27.5 % of live weight (LW) and milk yield from 333.8 to 441.9 g/day with inclusion of BPSM in the diet. FCR was 1.40, 1.30, 1.28 and 1.29 for 0, 10, 20 and 30% BPSM diets respectively. Milk composition was also significantly (P<0.05) influenced by level of baobab meal in the diet. Total solids in milk increased from 12.23 to 14.10 %; protein from 3.50 to 4.08 %; and fat from 3.38 to 4.45 % with BPSM in the diet. Addition of BPSM to the diet enhanced feed intake and milk production in Red Sokoto goats raised in the derived savanna of Nigeria.