Performance of dairy goats fed whole sugarcane

Five lactating goats were used in a 5 x 5 Latin square experiment to determine the effects of feeding whole sugarcane (WSC) on intake, total tract nutrient digestibilities, milk yield and milk composition. Goats were fed diets containing 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 g kg-1 WSC and 400, 300, 200, 100, and 0 g kg-1 tifton hay (TH). Intake of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) decreased linearly (p < 0.05) as the level of WSC in the diet increased. Total tract nutrient digestibilities were not influenced by WSC inclusion except for the digestibility of NDF which decreased linearly (p < 0.05) as the level of WSC in the diet increased. Inclusion of WSC linearly (p < 0.05) decreased milk yield without affecting milk composition. It was concluded that WSC had a lower feeding values than TH for lactating goats.