Growth Performance, Behaviour and Faecal Consistency of Kids Fed on Guar Meal

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Guar meal, an unconventional feed on growth performance, behavioural traits, faecal consistency in kids (3 months old) with an average body weight of 9.46 ± 0.15 Kg divided into three equal groups (D1, D2 and D3) following completely randomized design. Experimental diets were formulated by replacing ground nut cake (GNC) from the control (D1) group, with guar meal at 50 (D2) and 100% (D3) level in the concentrate mixture. Dietary replacement of GNC with unconventional protein source (GM) either at 50 or 100% had no negative infl uence on dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio. ADG was signifi cantly (P<0.01) higher in D2 group but comparable to that of D1 group. No signifi cant difference was observed in behavioural aspects in kids fed on three different rations. The percentage of time spent on eating was recorded highest in all the groups. Faecal consistency score was signifi cantly (P<0.05) higher in kids fed D3 ration compared to those fed D1 and D2. Guar meal based diets were found to be more economic than conventional type.