Determination of some growth and development characteristics of the kids fed with the feed containing whey and propolis

In this study, it was aimed to obtain an alternative, more economical and preferable milk substitute feed by adding whey powder to cow's milk in kid rearing and to determine the effect of propolis supplement on this diet. 40 Saanen goat kids born in the same period were divided into 4 groups, on average 7 days after taking colostrum, and while the 10 kids in the control group were kept together with their mothers and sucked their mothers freely, the kids in the other three groups, 10 heads in each one, were separated from others and taken into seperate sections. Kids in all three experimental groups were fed only milk replacer (75% cow's milk + 10% WHEY + 15% water). In addition to the feed, 0.4 cc and 0.2 cc propolis were given to the kids in the second and third experimental groups, respectively, once a day. Some growth and development parameters (body weight, BCS, body length, withers, chest circumference) and rectal temperature were measured once a week for 5 weeks from all groups and morning and evening diarrhea scoring was done. Blood samples were taken at the beginning, in the middle and at end of the study and some biochemical and hematological analyzes were performed. According to all the results obtained, the differences between the groups were found to be significant in terms of body temperature, glucose and urea evaluations, and the differences within the group in other characteristics were statistically significant (P <0.05).The insignificant difference between the average growth and development parameters of the kids in the groups fed with the milk replacer and the average of the kids in the control group is an important result in terms of growing kids economically and bringing goat's milk to the economy. According to the diarrhea scores, it has been observed that propolis is effective on diarrhea and can be used in growing kids as a preventive measure. As a result of the economic analysis, it has been determined that the daily feeding cost of an animal in the control group is 7.30 TL and 1.81 TL in the groups given the milk replacer, and early milking of the mothers of the kids raised with the milk replacer will provide additional income to the business. Due to the fact that there are very few studies on the subject during the kids' rearing period, this study will make a significant contribution to other new studies on the effects of WHEY-containing the milk replacer feeding and propolis use in maternal rearing, especially for the period from birth to weaning, when the mortality rates of goats are high. Key Words: Saanen Goat, Kid Rearing, Whey, Propolis, Live Weight, Body Measurements, Blood Values.