Research Article
Alsaied Alnaimy Habeeb, Ahmed
Abstract
Evaluation of the biotin supplementation to the diet of doe pregnant goats on milk yield, blood components, and hormonal levels and weight changes of their kids during the suckling period was the objective of this study. Thirty pregnant Zaraibi goats in the first parity were randomly divided into three similar groups. The experiment was started at two weeks before mating and lasted until the end of the suckling period and weaning their kids. The 1st group fed diet without biotin while the 2nd and 3rd groups, each doe was fed diets with biotin daily at the rate of 5 mg and 10 mg, respectively. Biotin additives to the diet of goats increased significantly doe kidding twins, litter weight of kids, milk yield and dry matter intake and decreased significantly the time of return to estrous postpartum compared to control group. Biotin additives also increased significantly concentrations of blood biochemical components, thyroid hormones, female sex hormones and decreased significantly cortisol level compared to the control group. Live Body Weight (LBW) and Daily Body Gain (DBG) of their suckling kids increased significantly with increasing biotin level in the diets of their mothers. These results suggest that dietary biotin is required at the rate of 10 mg daily for optimal pregnant goats.