Effect of herbal feed additives on performance parameters of ruminants and especially on dairy goat; a Review

Over 90% of the goats in the world are owned by rural households, which are characterized by poverty, low input agricultural practice, lack of modern management skills, poor feeding and housing practices, inappropriate breeding practices and inadequate adoption of technologies essential to improve the productivity. According to the FAO, the lack of drugs to treat diseases and infections causes losses of 30 to 35% in the breeding sector of many developing countries, where poor animal health remains the major constraint to breeding. There are two principle reasons behind the changes in legislation on the use of in-feed antibiotic growth promoters. The first is to try to combat the development of microbial resistance to antibiotic drugs and the consequences on human health. The second is a response to consumer pressures to eliminate the use of all non-plant xenobiotic agents from the diets of animals, so natural resources of medicine like phytomedicines can help smallholders in rural areas to manage their only income resources from diseases and mortality. ( F. Mirzaei, Effect of herbal feed additives on performance parameters of ruminants and especially on dairy goat; a Review. Report and Opinion 2011;3(10):18-36). (ISSN: 1553-9873). http://www.sciencepub.net/report