Silage Made from Bagasse and Distillers' Rice Grain Liquor As Feed for Goats

Cooperating agency for this topic:
An-Kuo Su
Taiwan Livestock Research Institute
Heng-Chung Branch Institute, Heng-Chung, Pingtung,
Taiwan, ROC
Fax: (886 88) 861 345, 2002-09-01

Goats can consume agricultural by-products, and in this way reduce the cost of production and solve problems of environmental pollution. The technology uses as raw materials two agro-industrial by products. One is the bagasse left after sugarcane is milled. The other is distillers' rice grain liquor. (This is the liquid by-product from rice left after the production of rice wine). Castrated Saanen goats were used in this trial.

Adaptability of the Technology

This technology is suitable for small-scale farms rearing dairy goats, provided they can get access to the raw materials. The silage bins may be plastic bags or small plastic containers (Fig. 1). The ration ingredients may be adapted according to local resources.

The Technology

The ration formulation was composed of corn, bagasse and rice-distillers' rice grain liquor. The materials were stored together in one large plastic bag or several small plastic containers. The corn and bagasse absorb the liquid from the distillers rice grain liquor. Some fermentation occurs, to make a kind of silage. The dry corn absorbs liquid and becomes reconstituted. This improves its digestibility (Fig. 2).

Advantage of the Technology

This technology and this ration formulation are very effective in decreasing the cost of goat production by 13.0% per kg gain weight (Table 1).

Precaution

The bagasse and distillers' rice grain liquor should be added to the corn and other ingredients immediately after they are delivered from the factory. This is essential to avoid spoilage, and helps keep the silage in good condition.

Index of Images

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  Figure 1 Putting Silage Made from Bagasse and Distillers' Rice Grain Liquor into a Plastic Container

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  Figure 2 The Finished Silage Is a Good Feed for Goats

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  Table 1 Growth Performance of Castrated Dairy Saanen Goats Fed Silage Made from Bagasse and Distillers' Rice Grain Liquor

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