Influence of water restriction and salinity on feed intake and growth performance of Nguni does

The objective of the study was to determine the influence of varying levels of water restriction on feed intake and growth performance of Nguni goats. Thirty six Nguni does (initial weight 18 +/- 3.2 kg) were used in the study. The goats were housed in individual cages and subjected to six levels of water restriction (100, 90, 80, 70, 60 and 50%) with ad libitum access to Medicago sativa hay. The scaled dry matter intake (SDMI), water to feed ratio (WFR), average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G: F) were estimated weekly. There was a quadratic increase in the SDMI as water restriction level increased, peaking at 80% water restriction level (P <0.01). There was a quadratic decline in the WFR as the level of water restriction was increased (P <0.05). There was a quadratic increase in the ADG, peaking at 70% of water restriction (P < 0.05). There was a linear increase in the ADG, for goats subjected to 5.5 g/I of water salinity (P<0.05). There was a quadratic increase in G: F as the level of water restriction was increased, peaking at 80% for goats subjected to 0g/1 of water salinity (P<0.01). There was a quadratic decline in G: F as the level of water restriction was increased for goats subjected to 5.5 g/l of water salinity (P < 0.05). It was concluded that the SDMI, ADG peaked at 80% of water restriction for 0 and 5.5 g/l of water salinity. At the same time, G: F declined to its minimum values at 70% of water restriction for 5.5 g/l of water salinity, thereby impacting on the productivity of Nguni goats. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.