Growth Performance, Carcass and Meat Characteristics of Black Goat Kids Fed Sesame Hulls and Prosopis Juliflora Pods (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Goats are raised under a wide variety of ecological zones and are able to survive and produce under harsh environmental conditions (El Khidir et al., 1998). Jordan is a semi-arid country with a rainfall average of 200 mm/year (El-Shatnawi et al., 1999); as a result, it suffers continuously from shortage and an increase in the cost of forage and feedstuff. Based on availability and market price, grains represent approximately 60-70% of the total production cost (MOA, 2007). Therefore, arid and semi-arid countries should be concerned with promoting the use of the readily available natural range grazing, in addition to supplementing animals with agro-industrial by-products. Prosopis juliflora and sesame hulls are good examples of low cost alternative feedstuff for animals. Prosopis juliflora, present in North America, Africa and Asia, has a greenbrown twisted stem, flexible branches and flattened multiseeded curved pods (Habit and Saavedra, 1988). According to Abdullah and Abdel Hafes (2004), the crude protein and energy contents of Prosopis juliflora pods (PJP) are comparable to those in barley grain (12.6% CP and 3.20 kcal/kg ME). Sesame hulls are the by-product of oil extraction in the sesame seed industry. After being cleaned from impurities, the sesame seeds are pushed into a peeling machine where mist and pressure are applied to separate the hulls from the seeds. The very small and light seeds escape this process and remain with the hulls. This resulting byproduct of sesame hull is sold at a very inexpensive price as livestock feedstuff. In Jordan, a total of 3.250 tons of sesame byproducts are produced annually (MOA, 2007). The crude protein content of sesame hulls is around 25.8%, while ME content is around 3.92 kcal/kg (Farran et al., 2000; Obeidat and Gharaybeh, 2011). Mahgoub et al. (2005) found that replacing Rhodes grass hay with PJP up to 20% in kids diets improved DM intake, ADG, FCR and hot and cold carcass weights; whereas, the performance was reduced when the PJP level was increased to 30% of the diet. Obeidat and Gharaybeh (2011) reported that the replacing barley and soybean meal with sesame hull in Black goat kids finishing diets improved nutrient intake, ADG and cost of gain. Similarly, final body weight, ADG, FCR, and cost of gain improved in growing lambs fed diets containing sesame meal as a substitute of soybean meal at a level of 8% of the diet when compared to lambs fed diets free of sesame meal (Obeidat et al., 2009). No research, however, has been reported on the use of Prosopis juliflora pods in combination with sesame hulls in goat diets. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of feeding diets containing graded levels of sesame hulls in combination with Prosopis juliflora pods on nutrient intake, performance, digestibility, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Black goat kids fed these finishing diets.