EFFECT OF WHOLE SUNFLOWER SEEDS SUPPLEMENTATION ON PERFORMANCE OF ZARAIBI GOATS

The work aimed to study the effect of whole sunflower seeds’ supplementation on the digestibility, rumen activity, blood constituents and body weight change, milk yield, colostrum and milk composition and kids’ growth of Zaraibi goats. Fifteen Zaraibi goats with average body weights of 41.04±1.19 kg and aged 4-5 years at the last two months of pregnancy were divided into three groups (5 in each). The goats in the first group (control) were fed the basal ration (R1), which consisted of 50 % concentrate feed mixture (CFM) plus 50 % fresh berseem (winter ration) or plus 50 % berseem hay (summer ration) on dry matter (DM) basis. In the other two groups, 5 and 10 % of CFM were replaced by whole sunflower seeds for R2 and R3, respectively. Also, six digestibility trials were conducted to determine nutrient digestibility coefficients and nutritive values of the experimental rations during suckling period (winter ration) and mid-lactation period (summer ration) using Zaraibi bucks (3 in each group). Dry matter intake (DMI) and ether extract (EE) significantly (P 0.05). The pH value and