Comparing Chopped Barley Straw with Alfalfa Hay in Fattening Shami Goat Kids

The experiment was conducted in the Agricultural Research Station in the Jordan Valley to study the effect of replacing alfalfa hay by barley straw in Total Mixed Rations (TMR) for fattening Shami kids. Thirty two Shami goat kids with an average initial live weight ranging from 25 to 25.75 kg were used. The experiments lasted for 56 days. Animals were allocated randomly to four isocaloric and isonitrogenous total mixed ration treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) contained different levels of alfalfa hay and barley straw. Rations were formulated to meet the animal requirements and fed on ad libitum basis. In the first treatment, alfalfa hay was the main source of roughage while in the second and third treatments, alfalfa hay was replaced partially by barley straw. In the fourth treatment, barley straw was the main source of roughage and alfalfa hay was not used. Feed intake was measured daily while kids were weighed every two weeks. At the end of the two experiments, four kids from each treatment were assigned at random and slaughtered to measure the carcass characteristics. Results showed that Voluntary Feed Intake (VFI) was numerically increased by low partial replacement of alfalfa hay but decreased with increased level of replacement of alfalfa hay in the diet with lowest value with complete replacement of alfalfa hay with barley straw (T4). No significant (P>0.05) differences were observed among treatments in average daily weight gains. Cold dressing percent ranged from 48.7 to 50.8% and the M. Longissimus area ranging from 101.6 to 134.9 mm, with no significant differences (P>0.05) between treatments. Present findings indicate that alfalfa hay could be replaced successfully with wheat straw in the diets of finishing Shami kids without adversely affecting their growth performance or carcass characteristics.