Effects of Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Supplement on Rumen Fermentation and NDF Digestion of Forage Sorghum (Abu 70) Hay in Goats

Abstract

Twelve male Nubian goats’ kids fed a basal diet of Abu 70 hay were used to investigate the effect of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplementation (0, 2.5, 5 g/day) on feed intake, OM and NDF digestibility and rumen fermentation’s end products (pH, ammonia-N and VFA) in a completely randomized design. Yeast supplementation resulted in a numerical increase in ruminal pH, ammonia-N concentration, and total VFA concentration, however, no significant (P>0.05) effects were observed among treatments. The yeast supplementation increased OMD by 12.1% and 10.1% and NDFD by 13.3% and 10.5% for 2.5 and 5 g/day yeast culture, respectively, compared with the control diet. Moreover, unsupplemented kids had lower (P < 0.01) ADG (5.5 g per day) than those with 2.5 and 5 g/day yeast supplement (20.8 and 16.3 g per day) respectively. This study demonstrated that NDF digestibility, feed intake and therefore, the average daily gain of Abu 70 hay would be improved by yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplement. However, both levels of yeast supplement have similar effects.