TY - JOUR T1 - Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Frond Feeding of Goats in the Humid Tropics AU - Rajion, M.A. AU - Ebrahimi, M. AU - Goh, Y.M. AU - Sazili, A.Q. AU - Soleimani, A.F. AU - Schonewille, J.T. JO - Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances VL - 12 IS - 4 SP - 431 EP - 438 PY - 2013 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1680-5593 DO - javaa.2013.431.438 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2013.431.438 KW - Goat KW -oil palm fronds KW -fatty acid KW -carcass characteristics KW -chevon AB - Twenty four goats were allocated to three groups (n = 8) and fed either a control diet Without Oil Palm Fronds (CON), a diet incorporated with 25% Oil Palm Fronds (OPFM) or 50% Oil Palm Fronds (OPFH) for 100 days to evaluate their growth rates, carcass characteristics and subcutaneous fatty acid profiles. Animals in all three groups exhibited similar final body weights (p>0.05). The OPFH group showed a significant linear reduction (p<0.05) in dressing percentage, warm carcass weight and back fat thickness and total muscle when compared to the CON group. The total n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) concentrations in the subcutaneous fat of the OPFH animals were significantly higher (linear, p<0.05) than the CON group. The diet containing 25% of oil palm fronds did not produce any adverse effects on the growth performance and carcass characteristics. This demonstrates an environmental-friendly way of utilizing agricultural waste by products for the small ruminant industry in tropical countries growing oil palm tree. ER -