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ISSN : 2287-5824(Print)
ISSN : 2287-5832(Online)
Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science Vol.46 No.3 pp.184-192
DOI : https://doi.org/10.5333/KGFS.2026.46.3.184

Growth, Digestibility, Nitrogen Balance, and Body Measurement Responses of Crossbred Female Goats to Alfalfa Source and Allowance Levels

Kwan-Woo Kim, Eun-Do Lee, Hyo Jin Kim, Sung June Byun, Byamungu Mayange Tomple*
Animal Genetic Resources Research Center, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Hamyang 50000, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding author: Byamungu Mayange Tomple, Animal Genetic Resources Research Center, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Hamyang 50000, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-55-960-3546, E-mail: tomplemayange07@korea.kr
August 21, 2026 September 10, 2026 September 12, 2026

Abstract


This study evaluated the effect of alfalfa source and allowance on growth performance, nutrient utilization, nitrogen (N) balance, and body measurements in crossbred female goats. Twelve goats [approximately 11 months old; initial body weight (BW) 38.2 ± 0.7 kg] were assigned to three replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares and studied over four 28-day periods. The treatments formed a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: domestic or imported alfalfa hay offered at 1.5% or 2.0% of BW on a dry matter (DM) basis. All goats received a fixed concentrate allowance of 1.5% of BW. Alfalfa allowance did not significantly affect growth, intake or digestibility, N balance indices, or body measurements (p>0.05); whereas, alfalfa source affected final BW, BW gain, and average daily gain (p<0.05; ADG), while source × allowance interactions were detected for final BW and dry matter intake (p<0.05; DMI). Source affected DM, organic matter (OM), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake, and both source and the source × allowance interaction affected CP digestibility, while ADF digestibility was affected by source alone (p<0.05). Fecal nitrogen output and apparent N digestibility differed by source, but urinary N, N retention, nitrogen-use efficiency, and the biological value of absorbed N were unaffected. Source and source × allowance effects were also observed for body length, chest width, and chest girth. Under the conditions of this study, increasing alfalfa allowance from 1.5% to 2.0% of BW did not consistently improve productive responses. Domestic alfalfa supported feed efficiency and nitrogen utilization comparable to imported alfalfa, although final BW, ADG, selected digestibility fractions, and body-size measures were generally higher with imported alfalfa. Domestic alfalfa may therefore substitute for imported alfalfa in crossbred female-goat diets when growth and frame-size targets allow some flexibility and forage quality is routinely monitored.


Crossbred goats , Feed allowance , Alfalfa source , Digestibility , Nitrogen balance

초록

    Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION

    Goats (Capra hircus) contribute to livelihood security across a wide range of production systems, and their adaptability, together with comparatively modest housing and feed requirements, gives them a practical advantage over larger ruminants in many smallholder and semi-intensive settings (Pollott and Wilson, 2009). South Korea has moved to capture more of that value domestically. Recent policy analysis points to an expansion of small-ruminant production as part of a wider effort to diversify livestock output and reduce reliance on imported feed and meat (Yoon et al., 2025), and a shift in consumer habits away from dog meat has further pushed goat meat forward as an emerging protein source in the domestic market (Asia Economy, 2026).

    Korean native goats carry genomic signatures associated with long-term local adaptation, tolerance of harsh conditions, and resistance to certain diseases, which is why they remain useful breeding material even as commercial output has shifted toward crossbred lines (Kim et al., 2019). Crossbreds are consequently an increasingly relevant production type for the domestic meat-goat sector, and a recent Korean feeding trial using Korean native black × Boer goats confirms that this cross is already established under domestic conditions (Jin et al., 2025). Whatever the cross, though, productivity still depends on a reliable supply of digestible energy, protein, and effective fiber, which is where forage quality and quantity come in.

    Alfalfa is a high-quality legume forage, and evaluating its yield and qualitative properties is essential to assessing the forage value of livestock (Feng et al., 2022). Alfalfa has been shown to improve dry matter, crude protein, and fiber digestibility relative to other forages or when included in concentrate, and nitrogen balance tends to track forage protein quality (Hanim et al., 2017;Feng et al., 2022;Sun et al., 2023). However, alfalfa quality is not uniform: hay origin, harvest conditions, and processing method can all affect its nutrient profile, and Korea currently relies heavily on imported alfalfa to meet demand even as domestic production capacity develops. Whether domestically produced alfalfa can match imported hay as a feed source is therefore a practical question for Korean goat producers, not just a compositional one.

    Forage allowance, not just forage quality, shapes how much of that potential a goat can realize: a greater allowance can raise nutrient intake and growth, but the size of the response depends on the animal's maturity, the basal diet, feed quality, and how restricted the animal was to begin with (Huang et al., 2024;Luthfi et al., 2024). The optimal level of roughage to include in a ration is, in fact, still not clearly settled across ruminant systems: in dairy calves, for instance, raising alfalfa hay inclusion in the starter diet has been shown to increase intake and weight gain over a lower inclusion level, though the size of the effect depends on age and diet composition (Nemati et al., 2016), and diet composition can shift rumen fermentation and bacterial community structure substantially even within Korean native goats specifically, as shown when animals were switched abruptly between high-forage and high-concentrate diets (Lee et al., 2019).

    Few studies, however, have compared alfalfa sources directly at more than one allowance level, in the same animals and the same experimental period, in crossbred goats. A Korean study in growing Hanwoo bulls reported similar dry matter intake and body weight responses to domestic and imported alfalfa, emphasizing the need for species-specific evaluation (Moon et al., 2024), but whether the same holds in crossbred meat goats, and whether source and allowance level interact, remains untested. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate the effects of alfalfa source, allowance level, and their interaction on growth performance, nutrient intake and digestibility, nitrogen balance, and body measurements in crossbred female goats.

    Ⅱ. MATERIALS AND METHODS

    1. Ethical approval

    All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee (IACUC) of the National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration (Protocol No. 2023-597). The four-period trial was conducted at the Animal Genetic Resources Research Center, National Institute of Animal Science, Hamyang, Republic of Korea.

    2. Animals, experimental design and feeding management

    Twelve crossbred female goats (Capra hircus; Boer × Korean native), approximately 11 months of age with comparable initial BW (mean ± SD: 38.2 ± 0.7 kg), were assigned to three replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares (4 goats per square), so that each animal received every treatment once across the four periods. The four treatments were: A1, domestic alfalfa at 1.5% of BW; A2, imported alfalfa at 1.5% of BW; A3, domestic alfalfa at 2.0% of BW; A4, imported alfalfa at 2.0% of BW. The imported alfalfa was commercially available hay. Domestic alfalfa was harvested at flowering, field-wilted to approximately 50% moisture, and processed in a hot-air hay system at approximately 80°C for 10-15 min, as described by Moon et al. (2024). All groups received the same commercial concentrate (Heungseong Feed Co., Ltd., Ansan, Republic of Korea) at 1.5% of BW, offered in two equal feedings at 09:30 and 16:30. Chemical composition of the alfalfa sources and concentrate is given in Table 1. Values of the chemical composition represent the mean of multiple analytical replicates from a single composite sample per forage source; because each forage source was represented by only one sample, no statistical comparison between sources was possible.

    Growth performance and body measurements were recorded on all 12 goats across all three squares. Nutrient intake, digestibility, and N balance measurements were restricted to one square of four goats, which occupied the metabolism cages for all four periods. Because these intake, digestibility, and nitrogen-balance results (Tables 3 and 4) are drawn from a single four-animal square rather than the full complement of 12 goats, they should be interpreted with appropriate caution and treated as indicative rather than conclusive. Animals were housed individually in ventilated metabolism cages (120 × 90 cm) fitted with feces- and urine-collection harnesses, with free access to fresh water. The trial ran for four consecutive periods; each period lasted 28 days, comprising a 25-day dietary adaptation phase followed by a 3-day collection period for feces and urine. A 3-day collection window of this kind is generally sufficient to estimate fecal output and apparent digestibility once animals have reached digestive equilibrium on the experimental diet (Liu et al., 2025).

    3. Measurements and sample collection

    Body weight was recorded before the morning feeding, at the start and end of each 28-day period, for all 12 goats. Feed offered and refusals were weighed daily throughout each 28-day period. Dry matter intake (DMI) was calculated from feed offered minus refusals. Body weight gain was calculated as final minus initial BW across the full 28-day period, and average daily gain (ADG) as body weight gain divided by 28 days. Gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) was calculated as G:F = ADG DMI , and feed conversion ratio (FCR) as FCR = DMI ( g/d ) ADG ( g/d ) . Body length, wither height, chest width, and chest girth were measured on all 12 goats at the start and end of each period by the same trained technician throughout the trial, following the procedures described by Kim et al. (2025).

    During the final 3 days of each period, feces and urine were collected quantitatively as described above from the four metabolism-trial goats. Feces were weighed daily, sub-sampled (10%), composited per animal per period, and dried at 65°C for 48 h before analysis. Urine was collected into containers pre-charged with 20 mL of 10% H2SO4 per day to limit nitrogen (N) volatilization, measured by volume, and sub-sampled for storage at −20°C until analysis. Apparent digestibility coefficients were calculated as [ (nutrient intake − fecal nutrient output) nutrient intake ] × 100 , and N balance as N balance = N intake − fecal N − urinary nitrogen (Jin et al., 2025).

    4. Chemical composition analysis

    Chemical composition of the experimental diets was determined following AOAC International procedures (AOAC, 2019). Feed samples were collected throughout the trial, dried in a forced-air oven at 65°C for 48 h (OF-22GW, JEIO TECH, Daejeon, Korea), and ground through a 0.9 mm sieve using a laboratory mill (Cyclotec™ 1093, Foss Tecator, Höganäs, Sweden). Crude protein (CP) was determined from total nitrogen using a Kjeldahl analyzer (Kjeltec 2300, FOSS Analytical, Hillerød, Denmark) and a 6.25 conversion factor. Ether extract (EE) was analyzed using an automated fat-extraction system (ANKOM XT15, ANKOM Technology, Macedon, NY, USA). Ash was determined by incineration at 550°C for 12 h in a muffle furnace (KMF-500, Lab Corporation, Seoul, Republic of Korea), and organic matter (OM) was calculated as dry matter minus ash. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were analyzed with an ANKOM fiber analyzer (A2000i, ANKOM Technology, Macedon, NY, USA), following Van Soest et al. (1991). Non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) was calculated as NFC ( % ) = 100 − ( ash + CP + EE + NDF ) , with all components expressed as percentage of DM.

    5. Statistical analysis

    Data were compiled in Excel 2016 and analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). All models included the fixed effects of alfalfa source, allowance level, and their interaction. Growth performance and body measurement data (n = 12) were analyzed according to the replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design, with square, animal within square, and period included as random effects. Intake, digestibility, and nitrogen balance data (n = 4) were analyzed according to the single 4 × 4 Latin square in which those animals were housed, with animal and period as random effects. When treatment effects were significant, least-squares means (LSMeans) were compared using the Tukey–Kramer adjustment for multiple comparisons. Results are presented as LSMeans ± standard error of the mean (SEM), with significance declared at p<0.05.

    Ⅲ. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

    1. Growth performance

    Growth performance responses to different alfalfa hay allowance levels are presented in Table 2. Allowance level had no significant effect on any growth performance parameter (p>0.05). This agrees with Kim et al. (2025), who found no significant differences across most growth parameters in female goats except for DMI at different feeding levels, and with Patel et al. (2020), who reported non-significant differences across all growth parameters investigated between treatment groups. Initial BW was similar across all four treatments (38.0–38.7 kg; p>0.05), consistent with successful randomization at the start of the trial (Muhammad et al., 2023). Diet source alone had a significant effect on final BW (p=0.0024), BW gain (p=0.0473), and ADG (p=0.0473), with the higher values observed in the imported alfalfa groups (A2 and A4); DMI, however, did not differ significantly by source (p>0.05). This is consistent with Moon et al. (2024), who also reported no significant difference in DMI between domestic and imported alfalfa in Hanwoo bulls. The allowance-level × diet-source interaction was significant for final BW and DMI (p<0.05), with DMI showing a particularly strong interaction effect (p<0.0001). The FCR did not differ significantly between allowance levels, diet sources, or their interaction (p>0.05); numerically, A4 had the lowest FCR (10.4) and A3 the highest (21.7). As Junaedi et al. (2020) noted, FCR reflects how efficiently ingested feed is converted to body growth, with lower values indicating better feed efficiency.

    2. Nutrient intake and apparent digestibility

    Nutrient intake and apparent digestibility responses to different alfalfa hay allowance levels are presented in Table 3. No main effect of allowance level was detected for intake or digestibility (p>0.05). Diet source alone was significant for DM, OM, ADF, and NDF intake, with higher values observed for imported alfalfa (A2 and A4) compared to domestic alfalfa (A1 and A3). This is consistent with the composition data in Table 1, where imported alfalfa contained more ADF and NDF and less ash than domestic alfalfa. Fiber content is a well-established driver of voluntary intake differences between forages (Mertens, 1994), offering a plausible compositional basis for the source effect. Crude protein intake was significantly affected by the allowance-level × diet-source interaction (p=0.0417), while DM intake followed the same general upward trend with allowance level, without the level effect reaching significance on its own. NDF intake did not follow a consistent directional pattern with allowance level, it rose from A1 to A3 in domestic alfalfa but fell from A2 to A4 in imported alfalfa, consistent with the significant diet-source effect on NDF intake reported above rather than a level-driven trend. Luthfi et al. (2024) reported that higher allowance levels in Kacang goats improve utilization of dietary protein and energy and increase productivity regardless of age. Crude protein and ADF digestibility were significantly affected by diet source (p<0.05), and CP and NDF digestibility were also affected by the source × level interaction (p<0.05). Crude protein digestibility ranged from 74.4% in A4 to 81.7% in A3; at the 1.5% allowance level, imported alfalfa (A2) showed slightly lower CP digestibility than domestic alfalfa (A1), while at the 2.0% level domestic alfalfa (A3) edged ahead of imported alfalfa (A4), a reversal that is consistent with a genuine source-by-level interaction rather than a simple source effect. López et al. (2010) reported a CP digestibility of 62.0 to 76.6% in an investigation of the impact of different physical form of alfalfa in dairy goats. Alfalfa has been shown to increase CP, DM, and fiber digestibility relative to whole oat hay (Sun et al., 2023), and small alfalfa-meal inclusion in concentrate raised DM digestibility from 71.7% to 78.3% and crude-fibre digestibility from 65.64% to 81.95% without altering intake in Ettawa crossbreds (Hanim et al., 2017).

    3. Nitrogen balance

    Nitrogen balance responses to different allowance levels of alfalfa hay in female goats are presented in Table 4. Alfalfa allowance did not affect any N balance variable (p>0.05). Nitrogen intake was significantly affected by the allowance-level × diet-source interaction (p=0.0416), directly reflecting the combination of feed allowance and alfalfa source, and nitrogen retention as a proportion of intake was numerically highest in A3 (40.1%) and A4 (39.8%), both ahead of the 1.5% groups, though this difference did not reach significance (p>0.05). In the study of Torres-Cavazos et al. (2023), increasing the urea content significantly increased nitrogen intake, retention, and balance in goats. Bo et al. (2025) found that in lambs, the high-protein group showed significantly higher levels of CP digestibility, N intake, urinary N, N deposition, N digestion, and N digestibility compared to the low-protein group. Diet source was a significant factor for fecal nitrogen output, fecal nitrogen as a percentage of intake, and apparent nitrogen digestibility (p<0.05 in each case); nitrogen digestibility itself ranged from 74.4% in A4 up to 81.7% in A3, essentially the mirror image of the fecal-nitrogen pattern, since more efficient digestion necessarily leaves less nitrogen in the feces. Nitrogen-use efficiency and the biological value of nitrogen were numerically higher in the 2.0% groups than the 1.5% groups, but neither diet source, allowance level, nor their interaction reached significance for either measure (p>0.05). This distinction is important because greater nitrogen intake does not necessarily improve biological utilization when absorbed nitrogen exceeds tissue requirements or energy supply limits microbial protein synthesis and retention. In Korean goats, Jin et al. (2025) similarly reported broadly comparable growth and apparent digestibility across contrasting forage groups, supporting the view that several forage sources can sustain acceptable performance when diets provide adequate nutrient supply.

    4. Body measurements

    The morphological measurements are presented in Table 5. Body length, chest width, and chest girth were all significantly affected by diet source and by the diet-source × allowance-level interaction (p<0.05). The pattern was consistent across all three traits: at the 1.5% allowance level, imported alfalfa (A2) produced clearly larger measurements than domestic alfalfa (A1), for example, chest girth of 90.6 cm vs. 85.6 cm. At the 2.0% allowance level, however, this advantage disappeared, with domestic alfalfa (A3) matching or marginally exceeding imported alfalfa (A4) on all three traits (e.g., chest girth 88.7 cm vs. 88.4 cm). This narrowing and reversal of the source effect at the higher allowance level is what the significant interaction term reflects, rather than a uniform advantage for imported alfalfa. Withers height showed no significant difference among treatments (p>0.05), consistent with an earlier comparison reporting no significant difference in body measurements between cattle fed domestic versus imported alfalfa (Moon et al., 2024). Chest width at the end of the trial (20.5–22.0 cm) sits within the range reported for Korean crossbred goats at 9–12 months of age (17–20 cm at 9 months, 20–26 cm at 12 months; Lee et al., 2025), despite the present goats being older (roughly 14–15 months) by trial end, suggesting slower chest-width development in this population, or a difference in growth trajectory between the two studies that merits further comparison. Body length and chest girth were also broadly comparable in scale to values reported for other crossbred and indigenous goat populations, although absolute figures vary considerably with breed, age, and management system (Fahim et al., 2013;Bhattarai, 2020;Tade et al., 2021;Deori et al., 2025).

    Ⅳ. CONCLUSION

    Increasing alfalfa allowance from 1.5% to 2.0% of BW had no significant main effect on growth performance, nutrient intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, or body measurements in crossbred female goats. Alfalfa source, by contrast, significantly affected several individual measures such as BW and ADG; DM, OM, ADF, and NDF intake; CP and ADF digestibility; fecal nitrogen output and nitrogen digestibility; and body length, chest width, and chest girth, with imported alfalfa producing higher values at the lower allowance level, though this advantage was not sustained at the higher allowance level. Source × allowance-level interactions were also significant for the BW, DMI, CP intake, CP digestibility, and nitrogen intake, indicating that the effect of alfalfa origin depended in part on the amount offered. Despite these source effects DM and OM digestibility, and nitrogen-use efficiency did not differ significantly between domestic and imported alfalfa at either allowance level, suggesting that domestic alfalfa can support comparable overall feed efficiency and nitrogen utilization even where it falls short of imported alfalfa on some individual growth and body-size measures.

    Ⅴ. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

    This work was carried out with the support of the “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. RS-2025-02303124)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea; This study was supported by the 2026 RDA Fellowship Program of National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

    Figure

    Table

    Chemical composition of the experimental diets
    DM, dry matter; CP, crude protein; EE, ether extract; CF, crude fiber; ADF, acid detergent fiber; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; NFC, non-fiber carbohydrates [NFC(%)=100−(ash+CP+EE+NDF)]; PD, pepsin digestibility.
    Effects of different allowance levels of alfalfa hay on growth performance in female goats
    A1, domestic alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A2, imported alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A3, domestic alfalfa of 2.0% BW; A4, imported alfalfa of 2.0% BW; Treatment values are least-squares means across experimental periods; SEM, standard error of the means; A, allowance level; D, diet source; A × D, interaction between allowance level and diet source; BW, body weight; ADG, average daily gain; FCR, feed conversion ratio; DMI, dry matter intake; Number of goats=12.
    Effects of different allowance levels of alfalfa hay on nutrient intake and digestibility in female goats
    A1, domestic alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A2, imported alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A3, domestic alfalfa of 2.0% BW; A4, imported alfalfa of 2.0% BW; Treatment values are least-squares means across experimental periods; SEM, standard error of the means; A, allowance level; D, diet source; A × D, interaction between allowance level and diet source; DM, dry matter, OM, organic matter; CP, crude protein; ADF, acid detergent fiber, NDF, neutral detergent fiber; Number of goats=4.
    Effects of different allowance levels of alfalfa hay on N balance in female goats
    A1, domestic alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A2, imported alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A3, domestic alfalfa of 2.0% BW; A4, imported alfalfa of 2.0% BW; Treatment values are least-squares means across experimental periods; SEM, standard error of the means; A, allowance level; D, diet source; A × D, interaction between allowance level and diet source; N, nitrogen; N feces (%) and N urine (%) are expressed as a percentage of N intake; N digestion, Apparent N digestibility; N excretion, Total N excretion; NUE, N use efficiency (NUE; retained per intake, g/g); BVN, Biological value of N (BVN; retained per digested N, %); Number of goats=4.
    Effects of different allowance levels of alfalfa on body measurements in female goats
    A1, domestic alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A2, imported alfalfa of 1.5% BW; A3, domestic alfalfa of 2.0% BW; A4, imported alfalfa of 2.0% BW; Baseline is the mean measured before initiation of the experiment; treatment values are least-squares means across experimental periods; SEM, standard error of the means; A, allowance level; D, diet source; A × D, interaction between allowance level and diet source; Number of goats=12.

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