Effect of supplementation with Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) tree foliage and Ivermectin injection on growth rate and parasite eggs in faeces of grazing goats in farmer households

Theng Kouch, T R Preston^* and Hun Hieak

Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
thkouch2002@yahoo.com
*UTA, Tosoly, Socorro, Santander, Colombia
trpreston@mekarn.org

Abstract

The on-farm trial was conducted during an 8-month period from February to September 2004, in Lvea Em District, Kandal province. February through May was the end of the dry season, the rains beginning in June and continuing through September with severe flooding in the last two months. Twelve farmers participated in the trial. They were allocated to 4 treatments according to a 2*2 factorial arrangement with three replications. The treatments were: G, grazing in the natural pasture only; GI, grazing and ivermectin injection; GS, grazing and supplementation with kapok foliage (Ceiba pentandra) wshen confined in the evening; and GSI, grazing, supplementation with kapok foliage and ivermectin injection). Each farmer was given 2 male goats (local breed).

Growth rates were twice as high in the dry season (range of 98 to 112 g/day than in the wet season (24 to 50 g/day), when much of the natural grazing area was flooded. Growth rates were increased by supplementation in the wet season but not in the dry season and were not affected by Ivermectin treatment in either season. Nematode egg counts in faeces were in the low to medium category (200 to 800 EPG). They were less in goats treated with Ivermectin compared with untreated controls, but were not affected by supplementation.

Supplementation with kapok foliage appears to be a viable option to improve the nutritional status of goats during periods of the year when grazing is restricted.

Key words: Ceiba pentandra, EPG, goats, growth, Ivermectin, kapok

Introduction

In Cambodia, mostly goats are owned by small-holder farmers, who raise them for meat. Usually, goat production depends on natural pasture. The traditional management system for goat production has consisted of day-time grazing and housing usually in a pen with raised floors at night-time (Sorn San 2002). Due to natural disasters, especially flooding, the natural pasture area has decreased and/or there is no grazing area. In the humid tropics, especially in the SE Asia region, another limiting factor in grazing ruminants is the high rate of internal parasite infestation (Waller 1997; Kochapakdee et al 2001).

The use of foliage from trees and shrubs in animal nutrition has focused the attention of many researchers, due to the fact that these plant resources are locally available, perennial sources of feeds (Singh 1995; Leng 1997), rich in protein and particularly appropriate for small ruminants (Chen et al 1992; Norton 1994; Kaitho 1997; Seng Sokerya and Rodriguez 2001). As well as being good sources of protein, the leaves of most trees and shrubs contain variable concentrations of condensed tannins (Getachew et al 2002). These compounds form insoluble complexes with proteins, a process which can have beneficial effects on the protein nutrition of the host (McSweeney et al 2001). Tannins are also reported to have direct anthelmintic effects against intestinal nematodes (Molan et al 2002).

The kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) is a multipurpose plant that is well known in practice by the farmers of Cambodia and traditionally used in goat production (Theng Kouch et al 2003b). Nguyen Thi Hong Nhan (1998) reported that the DM digestibility in growing goats fed the foliage as the sole diet was 76% and that growth rates (74 g/day) were similar to what was obtained with foliage of Leucaena. According to Theng Kouch et al (2003), the growth rate of grazing goats in village condition is 50g/day and 20g/day, before and after flooding. It was observed that during the periods of flooding, the farmers often supplemented their goats with foliage from the kapok tree.

Objective

The objective of this research was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of anthelmintic treatment and supplementary feeding of foliage from the kapok tree, on the growth performance of goats raised under smallholder farmer conditions.

Hypothesis

Supplementation with foliage from the kapok tree and Ivermectin injection will give the same result in control of intestinal parasites and growth of goats under farmer conditions, and both will be better than grazing alone.

Material and Methods

Location and duration

The experiment was conducted with farmers who were living in Pearm Okgna Ong commune, Lvear Em district in Kandal Province, about 25 km from Phnom Penh city, . The research took place over an 8 month period, commencing on 1^st February 2004 and finishing at the end of August 2004. February through April were the final months of the dry season, with the rains beginning in May continuing until October.

Experimental animal and design

Twenty-four non-castrated male goats were purchased from local farmers at about 3 months of age, and 11.3±2.67 kg live weight. They were allocated to 12 farmers according to a combination of 4 treatments arranged in three blocks, on the basis of live weight. The treatments, arranged as a 2*2 factorial, were:

• G : Grazing of natural grass only (control)
• GS : Grazing of natural grass and supplement with kapok tree foliage
• GI : Grazing of natural grass and Ivermectin injection
• GSI :Grazing of natural grass and supplement with kapok tree foliages and Ivermectin injection

Supplementation and Ivermecin injection

The kapok tree foliage was given fresh after being collected by the farmers. It was offered on an ad libitum basis (about 50% above recorded intake) in the evening (about 4 to 5pm) by hanging bunches of the foliage on the pen wall (Photo 1), simulating the way traditionally used by the farmers. The Ivermectin was injected at the beginning of the experiment and repeated every two months. The dose rate was 1 ml/25 kg live weight.

Measurements

The goats were weighed every two weeks. Feed intake of the kapok foliage was recorded and samples retained for analysis. Dry matter was determined by micro-wave radiation (Undersander et al 1993). Nitrogen and ash were determined by methods of AOAC (1990). Water extractable DM and N were determined by the procedures described by Ly and Preston (1997, 2001). Samples of faeces were taken every month directly from the rectum of the goats, for determination of faecal egg counts (FEC), according to the method of Hansen and Perry (1994).

Statistical analyses

The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the General Linear Model option (GLM) of the MINITAB software version 13.1 (Minitab 2000). Sources of variation were treatments, blocks and interaction treatments*blocks and error. Growth rate was calculated by regression of live weight (kg) on time (days). The data for faecal egg counts were transformed by the power of log₁₀ prior to analysis.

Results and discussion

The crude protein and the DM decreased when the foliage included petioles and the petioles plus fine stems (Table 1).

The values for crude protein and the DM in the intact foliage (leaves plus petioles plus fine stems) were similar to those reported by Nguyen Thi Hong Nhan (1998) (14% and 21%, respectively). It was observed that in most cases the goats consumed all the leaves, petioles and stems in the immature foliage at the top of the branches, but only the leaves in the lower parts.

The first 4 months of the experiment coincided with the dry season when there was plenty of grazing available. Beginning in June these areas were progressively reduced due to the flooding. It was therefore decided to analyse the growth performance and FEC data according to two periods corresponding to the dry (February to May) and wet (June to September) seasons (Tables 2, 3 and 4; Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4).

Growth rates were twice as high in the dry season than in the wet season. Growth rates were increased by supplementation in the wet season but not in the dry season and were not affected by Ivermectin treatment in either season. Nematode egg counts in faeces were in the low to medium category according to the rating proposed for sheep by Hansen and Perry (1994). They were less in goats treated with Ivermectin compared with untreated controls, but were not affected by supplementation. Coccidia infestation was not affected by Ivermectin nor supplementation.

The growth rate throughout the dry season was consistently high. It began to decrease with the onset of the rainy season eventually ceasing in all treatments during the latter part of August and all of September (Figures 1 and 2). At this time most of the grazing area was under water effectively restricting the opportunity for selection.

Conclusions

• In an on-farm trial with grazing goats under smallholder farming conditions, supplementation with foliage from the kapok tree when goats were confined during the night increased the live weight gain by 26% over a 32 week period.
  
  
• Anthelmintic treatment with Ivermectin reduced the epg but had no effect on growth rate.
  
  
• Supplementation with kapok foliage appears to be a viable option to improve the nutritional status of goats during periods of the year when grazing is restricted.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the MEKARN project, supported by SIDA/SAREC of Sweden, for financing this study.

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