Based on a circular economy approach, we evaluated the possible effect of targeted supplementation with leftover feed from dairy cows (i.e., intensive system) on the reproductive performance of crossbred/rangeland goats (i.e., extensive system) in arid Northern Mexico. During the deep-anestrous season (i.e., March–April, 25° North), multiparous goats (n = 38) with a similar body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) were randomly assigned to two groups: (1) supplemented group (SG; n = 19; BCS: 1.76 ± 0.07; BW: 43.7 ± 1.8 kg), receiving 400 g goat d−1 of dairy-cow-feed leftovers prior to grazing; and (2) non-supplemented group (NS; n = 19; BCS: 1.76 ± 0.06; BW: 44.3 ± 2.5 kg). Both groups were directed to the rangeland for a period of ≈8 h. While the experimental period lasted 36 d, the experimental breeding considered 11 d (d0–d10). The anovulatory status of goats was ultrasonographically confirmed on days −20, −10, and −1 prior to male–female interaction. Previously, bucks were separated for 3 weeks from the experimental females and received exogenous testosterone every third day (i.e., 50 mg i.m.) prior to mating. With respect to the response variables, namely BW, BCS, blood glucose levels (BGLs), estrus induction (GIE, %), latency to estrus (LTE, h), estrus duration (ED, h), and luteal tissue volume (LTV, mm), no differences (p > 0.05) occurred between experimental groups. However, the response variables, namely goats ovulating (GO, %; 78.9 vs. 47.3), total number of corpuses luteum (TNCL, n; 27 vs. 13), ovulation rate (OR, n; 1.42 vs. 0.73), multiple ovulation (MO, %; 73.3 vs. 55.5), and pregnancy rate on d 36 (PRd36, %, 68.4 vs. 36.8), favored (p < 0.05) the SG over the NS goats. Our results demonstrate that connecting the circularity of two divergent ruminant production systems (i.e., cow-intensive and goat-extensive) by using dairy cows’ feed leftovers as a targeted supplementation strategy in anestrous goats under a marginal-rangeland production system enhanced out-of-season reproductive outcomes (i.e., ovulation rate and pregnancy rate), thus benefiting marginal goat producers and their families.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-partum nutritional supplementation upon colostrum quality in goats managed under extensive grazing conditions (November and December) in northern Mexico (26ºN). Multiparous-pregnant crossbred native goats (n = 43; 130 days of gestation) were randomly divided into 2 groups homogenized by body weight (BW, kg) and body condition score (BCS, units; scale:1 emaciated to 5: obese): GS (nutritionally supplemented group; n = 22 and GC (control group; n = 21). Nutritional Supplementation consisted of chicken manure (40%), wheat bran (27%), sorghum seed (27%), molasses (4%), and salt (2%); totaling 500 g; 18% CP, 2.7 Mcal/kg DM, offered from 22 d pre-partum to 7 d post-partum. Colostrum was collected during the first 24 h postpartum and preserved at 5 °C until analyzed. Response variables were BW, BCS, and fat and lactose percentages. While data were analyzed by ANOVA, mean differences were analyzed with a Student-t test (SYSTAT 10). Results are shown in table 1. To conclude, pre-partum nutritional supplementation only enhanced BCS at parturition and the lactose content, with no effect upon fat percentage in goats managed under semiarid-subtropical rangeland conditions in Northern Mexico (26 ° NL).
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