The Potential of Green Fodder as a Stimulant for Volatile Fatty Acid (VFA) Production and Methane Emission Reduction in Male Etawa Crossbred Dairy Goats

The low nutrient utilisation efficiency in Etawa crossbred goats (ECG) reduces production performance and increases methane emissions from rumen fermentation.Therefore, innovative feed technologies such as green fodder are essential to enhance productivity by stimulating volatile fatty acid (VFA) production while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.This study aimed to evaluate the role of green fodder as a stimulant of volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and as a strategy to mitigate methane emissions in Male Etawa crossbred dairy goat.The experiment consisted of three dietary treatments: T0 = Male Etawa crossbred goat (ECG) fed 30% concentrate (as-fed basis) + 70% Napier grass (as-fed basis); T1 = Male Etawa crossbred goat (ECG) fed 30% concentrate (as-fed basis) + 35% Napier grass (as-fed basis) + 35% maize green fodder; and T2 = Male Etawa crossbred goat (ECG ) fed 30% concentrate (as-fed basis) + 35% Napier grass (as-fed basis) + 35% mung bean green fodder.The nutritional evaluation from seeds to green fodder indicated an increase in crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), and ash contents, accompanied by a slight decrease in total digestible nutrients (TDN) for both plant species (maize and mung bean).Maize green fodder exhibited the highest TDN content, whereas mung bean green fodder showed the highest crude protein content.The results of the study showed that the T2 treatment (giving green mung bean green fodder) could increase the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA), especially acetic acid and propionic acid when compared with the control diet (T0).Compared with the control diet (T0), male ECG fed green fodder at 50% of the total forage proportion produced lower methane.The conclusions of this study indicate that mung bean green fodder has the potential to increase VFA production and reduce methane emissions.