Effect of sodium selenite supplementation in goats

An experiment was conducted on 12 male Black Bengal kids (2–3 months of age) to elucidate the effect of supplementation of sodium selenite on their growth and blood chemistry. Kids were randomly divided into two equal groups and fed a basal diet consisting of concentrate mixture and paddy straw. Gr-I served as control (without any supplementation), whereas animals in Gr-II were supplemented with 0.3 mg selenium/kg dry matter as sodium selenite. Experimental feeding continued for a period of 90 days, during which fortnightly body weights were recorded to assess their growth rate. Blood samples were collected on day 0 and 90 days of the experimental feeding to study the haematology and blood chemistry of goats. Results revealed significant (P<0.05) increase in average daily gain in selenium supplemented group than the control. Hemoglobin content, packed cell volume, glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, A: G ratio and urea were similar between the two groups. Activities of serum aspirate amino transferase (AST), serum alanine amino transferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) did not differ between the groups. It may be concluded that supplementation of 0.3 ppm selenium as sodium selenite enhanced the growth without affecting blood biochemistry of goats.