Tropicultura (Jan 1997)
Effects of Low Plane of Nutrition on the Development of Lean Muscle, Bone and Fat in the West African Dwarf Goats of Nigeria
Abstract
Thirty West African Dwarf goat kids were raised on low plane of nutrition from 5 days old to 52 weeks of age. They were serially slaughtered at 2, 8, 12, 24 and 52 weeks old to study changes in liveweight and the development of lean muscle, bone and fat. Lean muscle and fat expressed as the percentage of empty body weight (E.B.W.) increased from 32.5 % and 3.5 % at 2 weeks to 42.0 % and 9.4 % at 52 weeks respectively. These increases at 52 weeks old represented about 544.9 % and 1093.3 % over their respective weights at 2 weeks old. The bone tissue increased to about 307.3 % at 52 weeks old over its weight at 2 weeks of age, but decreased from 15.4 % E.B.W. at 2 weeks to 10.9 % E.B.W. at 52 weeks of age. Lean muscle was consistently the largest carcass tissue from 2 weeks to 52 weeks of age followed by the bone tissue, while fat was the least. Female goat kids entered the rapid fattening phase at about 38 weeks of age (6.9 kg liveweight), but the males did not enter the rapid fattening phase, even at 52 weeks of age (11.8 kg. liveweight).
