Sakain Aidan Nasser (1), Mohammed Mousa Ouda (2)
Nutritional deficiencies, particularly protein shortage, negatively affect reproductive performance and metabolic functions in ruminants. Urea-treated roughages are increasingly used as an economical non-protein nitrogen source to enhance feed quality and improve reproductive efficiency in goats. However, evidence on their physiological and reproductive effects in local goat breeds remains limited. Few studies have systematically evaluated how different urea concentrations in treated barley straw influence reproductive efficiency, metabolic biomarkers, hormone profiles, and offspring performance in female local goats. This study aimed to determine the effects of feeding barley straw treated with 1% and 3% urea on feed intake, reproductive efficiency, blood biochemical parameters, reproductive hormones, and offspring growth in local female goats. Twenty-one goats were divided into three equal groups (control, 1% urea, 3% urea). The 3% urea group showed the highest roughage intake and final body weight (55.28 kg). Fertility and reproductive efficiency varied among groups, with the 3% group achieving notable performance. Blood urea concentrations significantly increased in urea-treated groups (P < 0.01), while total protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, estrogen, LH, and progesterone showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). AST increased and ALT decreased non-significantly. FSH levels increased significantly in urea-treated groups (P < 0.05). Offspring in the 3% urea group recorded the highest birth and weaning weights. This study provides one of the first detailed physiological and reproductive assessments of urea-treated barley straw in local Iraqi goats. Urea treatment at 1–3% can enhance feed quality and support reproductive and growth performance without adverse metabolic effects, offering a cost-effective feeding strategy for local goat production.
Highlights
1. M. Akasha and A. Q. Abu Al-Majid, "Nutritional Requirements of Livestock, Meat," Al-Fateh University - Faculty of Agriculture, 1st ed., pp. 29-37, 2013.
2. M. Al-Jarhi, "The Effect of Some Protein Sources on Old Milk Cows," Al-Ahram Foundation / Journal of Agricultural Reproduction, 2012.
3. A. R. Al-Zanouni, "Using Urea as a Protein Substitute for Sheep," Lamina University / Animal Production Research Division / Goats, 2012.
4. M. Abubakr Abdul Hilal, F. Ayad, M. Fawzi, and M. Al-Shams, "A Study of Some Reproductive Characteristics of Local and Shami Female Goats," Libyan Journal of Sciences, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 12-16, 2013.
5. "Analyzing and Determining Reproductive Indicators in Shami Female Goats," College of Shami Goat Research Station, General Authority for Agricultural Scientific Research Damascus University / Agriculture, 2013.
6. "Improving Reproductive Efficiency and Managing the Reproductive Season for Sheep," Damascus University, pp. 1-20, 2014.
7. "Animal Feed Manufacturing, Nutritional Value, and Processing of Animal Feed," Damascus University / Al-Atf, 2012.
8. A. Mahrez, "Animal Nutrition Families," Mansoura University / Faculty of Agriculture, 2012.
9. S. A. Al-Qaisi and Y. M. Muhammad, "Effect of Urea Addition to Fattening Old Goats," Damascus University Journal of Sciences, vol. 19, no. 1, Agricultural Sciences, 2014.
10. I. S. Milad, H. A.-S. Salim, and N. Makhzoum, "Effect of Hay Treatment," Libyan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2013.
11. S. Al-Alam and A. T. Bakouri, "Effect of Hay Treatment on the Reproductive Efficiency of Goats," Sebha University / Faculty of Science / Department of Zoology, 2015.
12. M. F. Al-Helou and H. J. A. Al-Ghalbi, "Effect of Yeast Addition on Performance of Lambs Fed on Barley Hay Treated with Urea," 2013.
13. A. A. Abdel Hameed, A. M. Salih, A. M. Fadel Elseed, and E. O. Amasab, "Effect of Feeding Untreated or Urea Treated Groundnut Hull Supplemented with Different Protein Sources on Blood Parameters of Sudan Desert Lambs," Online Journal of Animal Feed Research, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 40-46, 2013.
14. A. A. Abuelella, E. S. Elgohary, T. M. M. Abdelkhalek, and A. M. Abdelsamee, "Productive and Reproductive Performance of Goats as Affected by Tyrosine Administration," Journal of Sheep and Goat Science, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 43-57, 2014.
15. M. T. Igues, P. R. Cecon, L. L. Bitencourt, and L. D. Amorim, "Effect of Urea in the Diet on Ovarian Follicular Dynamics and Plasma Progesterone Concentration in Alpine Goats," Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia, vol. 40, 2013.
16. A. A. Abueleila and O. F. Kommonna, "Reproductive Performance and Constituents of Damascus Goats as Affected by Yeast Culture Supplementation," Journal of Egyptian Sheep and Goat Science, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 171-187, 2013.
17. O. Dayani, R. Tahmasbi, and M. R. Sabetpay, "Effect of Feeding Dietary Treated Wheat Straw with Whey and Urea on Fattening Lambs Performance," Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, vol. 9, pp. 2763-2767, 2012.
18. G. R. Donia, N. H. Ibrahim, F. M. Younis, and Z. A. Hanan, "Liver and Kidney Functions and Blood Minerals of Shami Goats Fed Salt Tolerant Plants Under the Arid Conditions of Southern Sinai, Egypt," Journal of American Science, 2014.
19. M. E. Elkholy, E. I. Hassanein, N. Edrees, W. Eleraky, M. F. A. Elgamel, and D. Ibraheim, "Nutritional Aspects of Recycling Plant By-Products and Crop Residues (Corn Stalk) in Sheep," Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 1834-1841, 2009.
20. B. M. Gamal, M. A. Sherief, and A. H. Hassan, "Follicular Dynamics, Steroid Hormones and Blood Metabolites Concentrations During Long Term Protein Flushing in Subtropical Ewes," Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, vol. 8, no. 18, pp. 207-216, 2014.
21. H. C. Gelez and N. C. Fabre, "Sexual behavior in ewes and other plasma urea nitrogen and progesterone concentrations and follicular dynamics in ewes fed proteins of different degradability," R. Bras. Zootec., vol. 41, no. 7, pp. 1806-9290, 2012.
22. M. Hadjipanayiotou, S. Economides, G. Kyprianou, I. Antoniou, and N. A. M. Soliman, "Replacement value of urea treated corn cobs for concentrate feed mixture in pregnant ewes rations," J. of American Sci., vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 166-175, 2012.
23. S. A. Hassan, S. M. Sadiq, and K. M. Hassan, "Effect of feeding chemical and microbial treated barley straw on performance and some serum biochemical attributes of Karadi lambs," KSU J. Nat. Sci., vol. 14, pp. 29-36, 2012.
24. J. D. Lohakare, A. K. Pattanaik, and S. A. Khan, "Effect of dietary protein levels on the performance, nutrient balances, metabolic profile and thyroid hormones of crossbred calves," Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., vol. 19, no. 11, pp. 1588-1596, 2012.
25. H. Mirza, A. G. Khan, A. Azim, and A. Mirza, "Effect of supplementing grazing cattle calves with urea molasses blocks, with and without Yucca schidigera extract, on performance and carcass traits," Anim. Sci. Int., National Agric Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan, Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 1300-1306, 2012.
26. A. Nikkhah, "Eating timing regulates post-feeding patterns of rumen ammonia and blood urea: a dairy cow model," Vet. Sci. Res., vol. 2, pp. 17-20, 2013.
27. J. Nix, "The myths about NPN," Sweetlix Live Sup Syst., 2015.
28. M. M. A. Al-Fayadh, M. N. Al-Shemari, and I. E. Al-Saimary, "Molecular characterization of antigens extracted from hydatid cysts of human and other intermediate hosts," J. Microbiol. Antimicrobials, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 76-82, 2010.
29. A. J. Ahmed, A. A. Abd Al Amer, and M. M. Atta, "Inhibition effect of pomegranate and orange peel extract on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus from cheese," Nat. Volatiles Essent. Oils, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 532-540, 2022.
30. H. Aabttan Al-Hilali and M. M. Atta, "Measurements of some asthma markers (IgE, IFN-γ, IL-4 IL) by ELISA technique and FOXP3 and IL-10 expression in asthmatic patients," Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci., vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 903-909, 2016.