Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology

In this experiment, twelve lactating goats of similar age, body weight (31.48±1.18 kg) and lactation (2^nd to 3^rd) were selected and divided into control (T₀) and treatment (T₁) groups, having six animals each for 90 d. The animals were fed as per ICAR (2013) standards, where T₀ were fed basal diet and T₁ were fed basal diet along with 1 g/goat/d garlic essential oil powder mixed in concentrate mixture. The weekly DMI (g/d) were comparable (P>0.05), however crude protein digestibility increased significantly (P<0.05) in T₁. The weekly body weight changes (kg) and milk yield (ml) were not affected (P>0.05), however milk components like lactose (%) and density of milk increased significantly (P<0.05) in T₁. Rumen fermentation parameters like pH and titrable acidity decreased significantly (P<0.05) in T₁; while TVFA concentration, bacterial and protozoal count were comparable (P>0.05) among the groups. The calculated methane emission (g/kg DMI) did not differ significantly (P>0.05). Monthly faecal egg count decreased significantly (P<0.05) in T₁. The CMI response was significantly better (P<0.05) at 0 and 96 h post PHA-p injection in T₁. The feed cost (/litre) of milk yield reduced in T₁ ( 48.18) along with significant reduction in feed cost/litre milk production than T₀ ( 61.95). Hence, it is concluded that the garlic oil supplementation at 1g/goat/d improved animal performance, and cost economics of milk production in lactating Berari goats.