*Alternative Animal Feeding for Intensive Livestock Farming Systems and Their Impact… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106061*


*Z Dry matter intake (g/day).*

*Y Scrotal circumference was recorded using a measuring tape around the widest point of the testicles.*

*XTesticular volume (cm3 ) was estimated using the formula for a cylinder, where V=2× r2 ×Π ×h; r = testis width/2; Π (Pi) = 3.14; h, testis length.*

*VThe testis shape was recorded by the ratio between the width and length of the right and left testicles according to the methodology described by [67], which classifies testicles from long (ratio 0.5), long moderate (ratio 0.51 up to 0.625), long oval (ratio 0.626 up to 0.750), oval-spherical (ratio from 0.751 up to 0.875) to spherical shape (ratio equal or greater than 0.876).*

*Means followed by the same letters in each row are not significantly different at 5% by the Tukey test. Source: Mugabe et al. (unpublished)*

#### **Table 4.**

*Testicular parameters and initial and final body weight of goats fed coconut meal in 2016.*


*Z Chemical analysis for dry matter (DM), mineral matter (MM), crude protein (CP), and ether extract (EE) was performed according to the procedure suggested by AOAC [72]. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was determined using the method recommended by Van Soest et al. [73]. Non-fiber carbohydrates (NFCs) were estimated using the following equation, as suggested by Hall [74]: NFC = 1000-(NDF+CP+EE+MM). Hemicellulose (HEM) and cellulose (CEL) were obtained by the sequential method, according to the methodologies recommended by Silva and Queiroz [75] using the following equations: HEM=NDF-ADF and CELL=ADF-Lig. (lignin), respectively. Total digestible nutrients (TDNs) were determined using an equation according to NRC [76]: TDN=87.84-(ADF × 0.70). Source: Mugabe (unpublished)*

#### **Table 5.**

*Nutritional composition of the concentrates fed to goats in 2016.*

#### **Figure 1.**

*Sperm concentration (×109 mL−1) of lambs fed diets containing levels of palm kernel cake. Source: Mugabe et al. [38].*


*ejac., ejaculate.*

*Means followed by the same letters in each row are not significantly different at 5% by the Tukey test. Source: Mugabe (unpublished)*

#### **Table 6.**

*Physical parameters of the semen of goats fed with coconut meal under grazing in 2016.*

alternative fatty acids source, it was observed that the diets affected sperm concentration of animals, more so diets containing 45% of palm kernel cake (**Figure 1**). Our results suggested positive relation between sperm concentration and nutrition, which means that animal feed supplementation is a key strategy to raise the reproductive performance of ruminants, as larger scrotal circumference, greater ejaculate volume, higher sperm concentration, higher daily sperm production as well as better seminal quality are strongly associated with nutritional management [38].

In the current study, diets containing 30% and 45% of coconut meal improved sperm concentration per mL, total sperm number per ejaculate as well as sperm progressive motility when compared to the non-supplemented group (**Table 6**). Our results agreed with those of Santos et al. [78] who found that palm kernel cake and coconut meal affected positively the sperm concentration. Moreover, Rege et al. [79] found a strong influence of diets containing fatty acids source on sperm concentration. Depending on the age, genetics, and nutritional status, sperm concentration may vary from 1 to 3 × 109 spermatozoa mL−1 [80]. These results are similar to those observed in our study in which the sperm concentration ranged from 1.45 × 109 to 3.55 × 109 spermatozoa mL−1.

It has become apparent that reproductive efficiency depends on an adequate nutritional plan. However, other physical parameters of the semen of goats such as *Alternative Animal Feeding for Intensive Livestock Farming Systems and Their Impact… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106061*

semen volume, mass motility, and spermatic vigor did not vary significantly with diets. Nonetheless, the findings from other researchers [81, 82] showed greater semen volume from lambs supplemented with a concentrate containing wheat bran, crushed maize, soybean meal, fish meal, salt, and vitamin-mineral premix than the control. These opposed results may possibly be related to the differences in the crude protein content of the concentrates used in the studies.
