This study aimed to investigate the effect of Liriope platyphylla and organic acids on enteric methane mitigation in goats using an open-circuit simplified respiration chamber system. Methane recovery was evaluated by injecting 3% standard methane gas for 30 min at 3 L/min. The percentage of methane recovery from the four chambers was 99±5.4%. Following the recovery test, an animal experiment was conducted using eight castrated Boer goats (body weight 46.6±7.77 kg) using a 2×2 crossover design. Experimental diets were as follows: 1) Control (CON), commercial concentrate and tall fescue, and 2) Treatment (MIX), concentrate supplemented with L. platyphylla and organic acids and tall fescue. Goats were offered feed at 2% of body weight (dry matter basis) in equal portions twice daily at 8:00 and 15:30. The goats were adapted to the feed and methane chamber for 10 and 3 days, respectively. Methane emission was measured one day per goat using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, and temperature and airflow measurements were used to estimate methane emissions. Dry matter intake (DMI), body weight, and methane emission were measured during each period. Methane production with CON and MIX was 24.48 and 22.68 g/d, respectively, and 26.81 and 24.83 g/kg DMI, respectively. Although the differences were not significant, the use of supplements resulted in a numerical reduction in methane in MIX compared with CON. Collaboration with experts in other areas, including various engineering departments, is imperative to measure methane emissions using a chamber system accurately.

본 연구는 실내-외 우리가 있는 개방형 흑염소사에서 우리나라 5개월령 재래 흑염소를 대상으로 서열과 일주기 리듬이 하루 24시간 동안의 행동에 미치는 영향과 서열과 사료급여시간이 사료급여 후 30분 및 60분 동안의 행동에 미치는 영향을 조사하기 위해 수행하였다. 재래 흑염소의 행동은 CCTV를 사용해 녹화한 후 이들을 1분 단위로 측정하였고, 총 10개의 행동으로 분류하였다. 서열은 적대행동에 유의하게 영향을 미쳤으나 (p<0.05), 다른 행동에는 영향을 미치지 않았다. 일주기 리듬은 응립(p<0.05), 이동(p<0.01), 사료섭취(p<0.001), 적대행동(p<0.001), 비적대행동 (p<0.001), 사료탐색(p<0.05), 음수(p<0.001) 및 기타 행동(p<0.001)에 유의하게 영향을 미치는 반면 휴식(p>0.05)과 몸단장(p>0.05)에는 영향을 미치지 않았다. 서열과 일주기 리듬의 상호작용효과는 적대행동에만 유의하게 영향을 미쳤다(p<0.05). 서열은 사료급여 후 30분 동안 응립(p<0.05)과 사료섭취(p<0.05)에 유의하게 영향을 미쳤지만 다른 행동에는 영향을 미치지 않았다. 사료급여시간은 사료급여 후 60분 동안의 음수(p<0.05)에 유의하게 영향을 미쳤으나, 다른 행동에는 영향을 미치지 않았다. 서열과 사료급여시간의 상호작용효과는 모든 행동에 유의하게 영향을 미치지 않았다(p<0.05). 결론적으로, 서열, 일주기 리듬, 그리고 사료급여시간은 우리나라 5개월령 미성성숙한 재래 흑염소의 행동에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다.

This study was conducted to determine the maintenance energy requirements of growing goats in order to establish an appropriate energy benefit system, to reduce feed costs and improve livestock productivity of goat farmers, and to present basic data for detailed specifications afterwards. This experiment was conducted as a group specification test for a total of 3 months, with 32 goats of three months age and conducted by four treatments with different energy levels (T1: NRC+0%, T2: NRC+10%, T3: NRC+20%, and T4: NRC+ 30%). The average daily gain was the highest in the treated with NRC + 10% of the energy level of the experimental diet, and the feed conversion ratio was in the range of 6.3 g to 7.3 g in the group feeding experiment. Although there was no significant difference in digestibility between treatments, the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and crude fat was higher in T2 treated with NRC + 10% than the other treatments. Through the regression equation of the values of MEI and ADG obtained through the experiment (Y=0.5439X+ 111.51, R2=0.712), the maintenance energy requirement of the goat in the growing period was estimated to be 111.51 kcal/kgBW0.75.

The normal feeding approach of goats might be due to their precise anatomical and physiological characteristics of entity, which permit them to be highly selective, to eat legume silages and wild green grass. This review has been designed to consider the grazing behavior, fodder selection, and feed composition of goats. Various herbs and corns consumed by goats have numerous nutritive resources. Based on the general herbaceous intake activities and behavior of goats, they prefer wild grass such as grass grown in the steep hills than soft grass. Because the digestion capacity of cellulose feed has higher digestion level compared to other non-ruminants within rumen and it is advantageous to use wild forest or mountain grass which comprises high proportion of cellulose feed for goat. In South Korea, there are abundant feed resources for goats because of occupying large areas of mountains. Thus, goat production and feeding costs could be reduced if plants are used from the wild forest as a feed for goats relative to grassland grazing. Also, it is expected to contribute in improvement of goat farming with harmonious relationship between the grassland and wild forest while satisfying animal welfare and physiological desires of livestock.

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of feed selenium-lysine (Se-Lys) supplementation on milk compositions and serum biochemical indices in Saanen dairy goats in Korea. A total of twelve 36 months old Saanen lactating dairy goats (47±6.21 kg) fed the similar dry matter intake twice a day at 2% of BW (DMI) (10.9% moisture of concentrate and 19% moisture of roughage), milk yield (2.5 kg/d) and parity (2) were randomly selected and subjected for the present study, divided into two groups with six goats in each group. The goats in the control group received rice hulls (10 g/ day) only, and did not receive Se-Lys; goats in the treatment group were fed 0.06 g of Se-Lys with 10 g of rice hulls every day before feeding roughage for six weeks. The milk sample was collected every week, and its compositions were analyzed. The results of the present study showed that there is no significantly increased milk production in Se-Lys treated group goats when compared with control group goats. But, Se-Lys treatment significantly increased the milk protein content (3.98±0.16%), fat (3.72±0.27%), lactose (4.07±0.14%), total solids (12.51±0.28%) and urea (14.42±1.45 mg/dl) content as compared to the control group goats (p<0.05). The somatic cell counts (207,740±28.81 cells/ml) were significantly lower in the Se-Lys treated group than in the control group (p<0.05). Also, the results of the current study showed that supplementation of Se-Lys were significantly decreased the blood biochemical indices of IL-6 (34.34±6.04 pg/ml), TNT-α (0.56±0.22 ng/ml), MDA (5.07±1.03 ng/ml), GPx-1 (9.07±5.17 ng/ml), sCD4 (2.64±1.02 ng/ml) and sCD8 (5.08±2.08 ng/ml) level when compared with without addition of Se-Lys group dairy goats (p<0.05). On the other hand, the selenoprotein P (1,580.18±127.62 ng/ml) level was significantly higher in Se-Lys supplemented group than in the control group (p<0.05). Based on the study results, it was concluded that feed Se-Lys supplementation may improve milk yield with positively improved protein, fat, lactose, total solids, urea content, and biochemical indices without negative effects on milk production traits.

This study was conducted to predict the energy requirements for maintenance and growth of female Korean black goats during their growth and pregnancy phases. Fifty female goats (18.7±0.27 kg) in their growth phase with an average age of 5 months were stratified by weight and randomly assigned into 5 groups. They were fed 5 diets varying in metabolic energy (ME) [2.32 (G1), 2.49 (G2), 2.74 (G3), 2.99 (G4), and 3.24 (G5) Mcal/kg] until they were 9-month-old. After natural breeding, 50 female goats (30.7±0.59 kg) were stratified by weight and randomly assigned into 5 groups. They were fed 5 diets varying in ME [2.32 (P1), 2.43 (P2), 2.55 (P3), 2.66 (P4), and 2.78 (P5) Mcal/kg]. The average feed intake ranged between 1.5 and 2.0% of the body weight (BW), and there was no significant difference between the treatment groups with goats in growth or pregnancy phases. Average daily gain (ADG) in diet demand during the growth phase increased with an increasing ME density and ranged from 46 to 69 g/d (p<0.01). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved with the ME density during the growth phase (p<0.01). The intercept of the regression equation between ME intake and ADG indicated that energy requirement for maintenance of goats during growth and pregnancy phases was 103.53 kcal/BW0.75 and 102.7 kcal/BW0.75, respectively. These results may serve as a basis for the establishment of goat feeding standards in Korea. Further studies are required to assess the nutrient requirement of goats using various methods for improving accuracy.

Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) may cause diarrhea and enterotoxemia in adult and young livestock, leading to problems in the production and management of farms. Four hundred fecal samples were collected from 25 goat farms located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in the Republic of Korea. Sixteen C. perfringens strains were isolates from fecal samples, and the isolates were identified as type A (n=11) and type D (n=5). Additionally, α- and ε-toxin genes were detected in 16 and 5 strains by PCR, respectively, and the enterotoxin gene was presented in 2 strains. The antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using the disk diffusion method and E-test method. In the disk diffusion method, ampicillin (n=16) and chloramphenicol (n=15) were highly susceptible to 16 C. perfringens isolates. In the E-test method, ampicillin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and meropenem were susceptible to more than 14 of 16 C. perfringens isolates. This study indicates that administration of antibiotics such as ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and meropenem can prevent and treat C. perfringens infections in goats.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of various roughage sources on nutrient digestibility and enteric methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) production in goats. Four castrated black goats (48.5 ± 0.6 kg) were individually housed in environmentally controlled respiration-metabolism chambers. The experiment design was a 4 × 4 balanced Latin square design with 4 roughage types and 4 periods. Alfalfa, tall fescue, rice straw, and corn silage was used as representative of legume, grass, straw, and silage, respectively. Dry matter digestibility was higher (p < 0.001) in corn silage than in alfalfa hay. Dry matter digestibility of alfalfa hay was higher than those of tall fescue or rice straw (p < 0.001). Neutral detergent fiber digestibility of tall fescue was lower (p < 0.001) than those of alfalfa, rice straw, or corn silage. Daily enteric CH4 production and the daily enteric CH4 production per kilogram of BW0.75, dry matter intake (DMI), organic matter intake (OMI), digested DMI, and digested OMI of rice straw did not differ from those of tall fescue but were higher (p < 0.001) than those of alfalfa or corn silage. Roughage type had no effect on enteric CO2 emission in goats. Straw appeared to generate more enteric CH4 production than legume or silage, but similar to grass.

As a part of the effort to improve post-transfer survival rate of embryos in Korean black goats, a technique for laparoscopic uterine transfer of blastocysts was carried out. A total of 26 transferrable embryos (morula to expanded blastocysts) were transferred to 13 recipient goats via transabdominal laparoscopic method. In consequence of our hormone protocol, 65% of the recipients (13/20) were found to have synchronized estrus. After confirmation of corpus luteum in each recipient goat, a Babcock laparoscopic forceps was inserted into the lower abdominal cavity to hold a uterine horn and fasten it near the peritoneum without causing injury. Then 7.5cm long 16G IV catheter was inserted directly into the uterine lumen through the abdominal wall. After removal of the stylet of the IV catheter, the embryo transfer tube (identical in size to the stylet and loaded with blastocysts) was inserted into the uterine lumen through the catheter to unload the embryos. Of the 13 estrus synchronized recipients, 9 were transferred blastocysts and 4 were transferred molurae (2 embryos in each recipient) in uterine ipsilateral to the ovary with corpus luteum. Four of the 9 recipients which blastocysts were transferred using this method has been confirmed pregnant (44.4% pregnancy rate).

The seroprevalence of major infectious abortion agents was investigated in native Korean goats from Jeonnam province using ELISA. A total of 98 blood samples were collected from goats. Overall, 48 (49.0%), 11 (11.2%), and 1 (1.0%) serum samples tested positive for C. burnetii, T. gondii, and C. abortus, respectively, while none of the samples were positive for B. abortus or N. caninum. Moreover, a PCR assay conducted to detect C. burnetii antigens in goats with a history of abortion revealed 18 (38.3%) of 47 goats were C. burnetii positive by both the ELISA and PCR assay.

A total of nine Korean indigenous goats were used in a cross-over arrangement to give nine replicates per treatment, and they were housed individually assigned to 1 of 9 dietary treatments. Nine treatments were 0, 500, and 1000 ppm of quercetin supplementation in diets by mixing roughage and concentrate with different ratios (RC ratio) of 3:7 (RC 30), 5:5 (RC 50) and 7:3 (RC 70). Nutrient utilizations of dry matter, crude fat and NDF were not affected by neither RC ratio nor dietary quercetin (p>0.05), but the rate of crude protein and ADF increased in animals in RC 70 group regardless of quercetin supplementation (p<0.05). In addition, higher RC ratio increased (p<0.05) N retention and N retention rate. Total VFA, acetic acid, propionic acid, iso-butyric acid, butyric acid, iso-valeric acid and valeric acid contents were not affected (p>0.05) by dietary quercetin. Meanwhile, lower total cholesterol level exhibited in animals in RC 70 group compared to RC 30 or 50 groups, unrelated to dietary quercetin (p<0.05), however other plasma parameters were not influenced (p>0.05) by RC ratio and dietary quercetin. Our results indicated that both RC ratio and dietary quercetin may not directly affect the production indices and immune responses in Korean indigenous goat

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different dietary corn levels in Total Mixed Rations (TMR) on growth and meat quality of castrated Korean black goats. For feeding trials, thirty-two castrated Korean black goats with similar age (average of 3 months) and body weight (average of 15.9 kg) were divided into the following four treatment groups: commercial feed (control), TMR containing 15% of corn (T1), TMR containing 25% of corn (T2), and TMR containing 35% of corn (T3) in a randomized complete block design. Final body weight was the highest in T2 (58.9 kg), followed by that in control group (53.1 kg). Average daily gain (ADG) and total dry matter intake (TDMI) were also the highest in T2 (100.2 g and 1,346 g, respectively). However, feed conversion ratio (13.4) was the lowest in T2. Carcass weight and dressing percentage in T2 and T3 were higher than those in the control. For meat quality characteristics, crude fat content was the highest in T2 (6.54%). Cooking loss (15.2%) was the lowest in the control. However, the control had the highest flavor value (5.3%). Oleic acid (C18:l) and palmitic acid (C16:0) were the highest in T2 (48.6% and 22.4%, respectively). Stearic acid (C18:0) was the highest in T1 (14.5%). Unsaturated fatty acid was the highest in the control (58.8%), followed by that in T3 (58.2%), T2 (57.8%), and T1 (54.4%). These results indicate that TMR containing 25% of corn could improve the growth performance and meat quality of castrated Korean black goats