Growth performance, feed utilization, and immunity of Damascus growing goats fed different levels of Azolla

Abstract

Abstract Background Azolla has gained increasing interest as a sustainable alternative to conventional feed resources due to its nutrients and bioactive substances. This study evaluated the effect of the replacement of traditional concentrate feed mixture (CFM) with dried Azolla pinnata (AZ) on feed utilization, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, immunity, and growth of growing Damascus kids. Methods Thirty growing male Damascus goat kids (4 months of age) were randomly allocated to three groups (n = 10) for 120 days to receive three diets with different levels of AZ: a control diet (CC) contained berseem hay and CFM; a control diet with 10% AZ (AZ10) and 20% (AZ20) substituted for CFM. The digestibility trial was conducted at the end of the experiment using metabolic cages. Results Replacing the CFM with AZ at 10% (AZ10) improved growth performance by 17 and 14% compared with groups CC and AZ20, respectively. Moreover, group AZ10 had higher nitrogen balance and digestibility of crude fiber and ether extract ( p < 0.05). Group AZ10 had higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as acetic, butyric, valeric, and isovaleric acids ( p < 0.05). Additionally, Azolla-substituted groups had higher blood total antioxidant capacity and Immunoglobulin G (IgG), while group AZ10 revealed lower blood aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ( p < 0.05). Increasing the Azolla substitution level to 20% (AZ20) decreased the digestibility of nutrients ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Substituting CFM with 10% Azolla affected the performance of growing Damascus goats, and optimum positive effects were obtained at 10% substitution.