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| Goat kids’ feed, a functional feed developed by UMM lecturers. (Photo: Istimewa) |
The number of goat kids births in Indonesia raises significantly. Surprisingly, the mortality rate can reach 25%, as confirmed by the Animal Husbandry Lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Dr. Ir. Ahmad Wahyudi, M.Kes. IPU. According to him, 75% of other goat kids also live reluctantly and die unwillingly.
The lecturer, known as Wahyudi, says that goat kids can later be utilized well as a potential slaughter animal or a healthy mother that can give birth to many children. Unfortunately, the risk of goat kids’ death is still relatively high. Therefore, he and his team researched and formulated the right food for the livestock.
Furthermore, many farmers still need to provide suitable feed according to goat growth, for example, by only giving grass and dregs. The meal is not formulated in advance, such as protein elements that are good for their development.
"Improper feeding will cause stunting in goat, cow and sheep kids. Therefore, this feed innovation aims to reduce mortality and reduce stunting so that cempe can grow well and healthy," he said.
He emphasizes that a goat kid must drink breast milk or colostrum that provides enough immunity when born. They will be at risk of disease if they do not get enough milk. The same applies to the mothers, who must be nourished. Otherwise, the milk given will be of poor quality.
After getting enough milk, the goat kid must also get the appropriate nutrition. Therefore, he created a functional feed that has a good composition and meets the requirements of a digestible meal. Namely, about 65-70 percent can be digested. Unlike general pelleted meals, the feed is added with lactic acid bacteria to make it healthier.
"I had to go through many things to make this innovation work well. I even had to study functional feed for six months in Japan. Mainly how to add lactic acid bacteria to the feed composition," he said.
The production of lactic acid bacteria is done through isolation. They are isolated using media in the laboratory by taking them from corn plants. He and his team have also patented the pellet innovation.
Wahyudi explained that before it was finished, he had conducted research from 2019 to 2021. He also invited and discussed with various parties, including the economic team and experts in the field of animal husbandry. He spent much time in UMM's animal husbandry and microbiology laboratories to test and analyze bacteria.
"Currently, this product is still in the process of being offered to various elements of society and industry. I believe this innovation has great benefits to overcome death and stunting in cempe," he concluded. (imh/nov/wil)
