The effect of creep mixture diet on growth performance, the pattern of skin follicle development and fiber characteristics in suckling Merghoz kids

A total of 16 suckling Merghoz kids, comprising eight male and eight female with birth liveweights of 2.7 ± 0.11 and 2.3 ± 0.16 kg, respectively were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The kids were blocked within sex according to their liveweight and randomly allocated to one of two treatments: ad libitum good quality alfalfa hay in addition to free suckling (control) or ad libitum creep mixture in addition to free suckling and free choice good quality alfalfa hay (creep mixture). Daily feed intake and liveweight changes of all kids were recorded during the study. Skin biopsies and fibre samples were taken every 15 and 28 days, respectively. Average daily dry matter and milk intake by the kids were similar in the four groups. Kids in creep mixture diet showed higher value of average daily gain (P< 0.05). Sex and dietary treatment had no significant effects on secondary follicle density and the S/P ratio in the skin. In contrast, the mean values of both primary and secondary follicular index were significantly different under the influence of sex and dietary treatment (P< 0.05 and P< 0.01). It is concluded that follicular index and growth rate in suckling Merghoz kids were increased due to using creep mixture diet.