Effect of dietary inclusion of mushroom waste on growth, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites and economics in growing Berari goats

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of partial inclusion of mushroom waste (MW) in concentrate mixture on performance, immune response, blood metabolite concentration and economics in growing Berari goats. Eighteen growing Berari goats of similar age (4–6 months) and average body weight (13.72±0.61 Kg) were randomly divided into three equal groups and fed for 90 days. The control group (MW₀) received concentrate mixture as per ICAR (2013) feeding standards, whereas, MW₅ and MW₁₀ groups received concentrate in which protein source was replaced by MW at 5 and 10% respectively on CP basis. The fortnightly DM intake, body weight gain and nutrient digestibility were comparable among groups. The body condition score improved significantly (P<0.05) in MW₁₀ than MW₀ and MW₅ respectively. The hemoglobin (g/dl) was significantly higher (P<0.05) in MW₁₀ and MW₀. BUN and blood glucose (mg/dl) improved linearly (P<0.05) along with increase in dietary inclusion of MW. The cell mediated immune (CMI) response was comparable among groups. The faecal egg count declined numerically (P>0.05) from 0 to 90 days. Total cost of production (Rs.) in MW₅ and MW₁₀ were lesser than MW₀. Net profit per goat (‘) was the highest in MW₁₀. It is concluded that dietary inclusion of MW up to 10 percent to replace protein source in concentrate mixture on CP basis would be beneficial to reduce production cost and improve growth performance in Berari goats.