Fifty Alpine lactating does were used to evaluate the effects of feeding different levels of forage neutral detergent fiber (FNDF) on nutrient intake and milk yield and composition. Animals were housed individually and assigned to a completely randomized design with five treatments and ten replicates. A total mixed ration, containing Tifton-85 (Cynodon sp.) hay, ground corn, soybean meal and mineral mixture was fed ad libitum. The experimental diets contained 20, 27, 34, 41 or 48% of FNDF. As dietary FNDF increased, the intakes of DM, OM, CP, EE, TC, NSC and net energy (NE) decreased linearly. In addition, increasing dietary FNDF linearly increased intakes of NDF, FNDF and ADF. There was no effect of FNDF level on contents of milk fat and milk total solids. However, milk yield, fat-corrected milk and yield of total solids all decreased linearly. The efficiency of utilization of metabolizable energy to milk yield reached a plateau at 35.4% of FNDF.
feeding; fiber; forage; goats
