Ahmad et al., J. Anim. Plant Sci. 24(Suppl. 1):2014 Proceedings of “International Livestock Nutrition Conference” held on October, 23-24, 2013 at UVAS, Lahore 73 EFFECT OF FEEDING FREQUENCY ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF BEETAL GOAT KIDS DURING WINTER SEASON N. Ahmad, A. Ali, M. Abdullah, A. Khalique * , K. Javed, J.A. Bhatti, S. Ahmad * , Saima * , Z. Iqbal, M. O. Omer ** , U. Younas, Z. M. Iqbal, K. M. Anjum *** , T. Hussain and F. Shahzad Department Livestock Production, * Department of Animal Nutrition, ** Department of Wildlife and Ecology, ** Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, *** Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan Corresponding Author: nisarahmad@uvas.edu.pk ABSTRACT Eighteen Beetal goat kids of about same age (one month) and average weight (3.2 kg) were selected from the prevailing flock and were divided randomly into three groups with 6 replicates in each group. These kids were kept separately to study the effect of feeding frequency on the growth performance during winter season. Green fodder was offered ad- libitum and concentrate was given @ 1% of the body weight to each kid. Group A (control), B and C were fed two, three and four times daily, respectively. The parameters studied were feed intake, weight gain, body measurements like height, girth and length, environmental temperature and relative humidity. There was a significant difference in the DMI (P<0.01), weight gain (P<0.05), body height (P<0.01) between treatments (feeding frequency). Body girth and body length also had a significant difference (P<0.05) for group A with B and C where as non significant results were found between kids of group B and C on fortnightly basis. The kids of group C performed well in terms of weekly body weight gain, daily dry matter intake, and body measurement as compared to group A and B. Keywords: Feeding frequency, Growth Performance, Beetal goat kids, Winter Season. INTRODUCTION Pakistan is a developing country having more than 184.35 million inhabitants that are growing at the rate of 2% annually. At present approximately 6.5 million families directly or indirectly are depending on livestock for their livelihood. Amongst the country’s livestock population, goats own the highest number (64.9 million heads), most of them are reared by small and land-less farmers (Anonymous, 2013). Goat plays a momentous role in the economy and nutrition of landless, small and trivial farmers in Pakistan. Goat nurture is an activity which has been accomplished by a large section of population in rural areas. They can efficiently live on available shrubs and trees in adverse harsh atmosphere and make a payment to livestock industry in terms of milk, meat, skin and hair. In spite of their importance, goats have received little scientific attention (Hamayun et al., 2006). Meat production by goats has become an important livestock enterprise in several parts of the world. Nevertheless, energy and protein requirements of meat goats have not been defined thoroughly (Fernandes et al., 2007). The feeding management of the herd's young goats is critical to the overall success of the farm enterprise, regardless of the production system i.e., meat, milk and mohair. In all three systems, young goat kids are raised either as replacement stock or for slaughter purpose. The farmers have to take care about physiological changes which a young goat’s digestive system has to observe throughout life. Nutritional needs of young goats are fulfilled by the type and amount of feed. It also depends upon the management techniques (Akram, 1987). The feed supply balance sheet indicated that the livestock feed pool was deficient in dry matter (21 %), energy (29 %) and crude protein (33 %) availability. The area under fodder crops has reduced during the past decade without any significant corresponding increase in per hectare yield. Animals are getting only 75% of the required amount of digestible energy and 40 % of the digestible crude protein (Akram, 1987; Qureshi, 1992). Keeping in view the importance of the existing problem faced by the goat farmers in order to successfully raise the replacement stock of Beetal goat (Capra hircus) as high productive animals on a least cost basis, this study was planned to observe the effect of feeding frequencies on the growth performance of kids. MATERIALS AND METHODS This research was carried out at Small Ruminants Training and Research Center, UVAS Ravi Campus, Pathoki to investigate the effect of feeding frequency on the growth performance of Beetal goat ( Capra hircus) kids. The The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences, 24(Suppl. 1): 2014, Page: 73-76 ISSN: 1018-7081