The aim of this trial was to determine the water intake of Tswana goats and investigate the effects of short term water deprivation in summer or winter (6000 ml water offered either once every 72 h, 48 h, 24 h or ad libitum) on feed intake, dry matter digestibility, growth rate and health. Goats were fed a diet comprising 60% Cenchrus ciliaris hay and 40% Medicago sativa hay. Feed intake per kg metabolic weight was inversely related to water intake. Body weight gains decreased with longer watering intervals, rectal temperatures were unaffected but respiratory rate, packed cell volume, pulse rate, haemoglogin level and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration was highest with the 72 h watering interval. Feed intake and daily weight gains were higher in winter than summer, but animals drank more water in summer than in winter, and showed more signs of dehydration in summer. Dry matter digestibilities (%) were 66.8, 66.7, 64.2 and 65.2 for water intake intervals of ad lib, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h respectively; digestibilities of organic matter, crude protein and crude fibre followed the same trend. Urine output, faecal output per kg metabolic weight and faecal moisture content decreased with increased length of water deprivation. It was concluded that Tswana goats are well adapted to semi-arid zones and can be watered once in 72 h without severe dehydration.
The aim of this experiment was to characterize the milk yield of the Tswana goat of Botswana. Twenty-one Tswana goat does were allocated to one of three diets formulated to provide energy for maintenance and a milk yield of either 1.5 kg/d, 1.0 kg/d or 0.5 kg/d. Intake, milk yield and kid growth rate was monitored for 14 weeks. Dry matter intakes of up to 5% of body weight were recorded. Energy intake and milk yield differed between treatments (p < 0.01). Daily ME intake for the low, medium and high-energy diets was 1.01, 1.42 and 1.64 MJ ME/kg metabolic weight; the corresponding milk yields were 0.47, 0.53 and 0.72 kg/day. Kid birth weight ranged from 2.6 to 2.9 kg, and daily gains over the 14-week period were 95, 116 and 128 g/day for the low, medium and high energy diets respectively. Milk output accounted for 62% of the variation in kid growth rate. It was concluded that Tswana goats have the potential to respond to increasing levels of energy intake by increasing milk yield to relatively high levels.
Three experiments were conducted to measure the preference, voluntary feed intake (VFI), and digestibility of forest type (FT) sheep fed untreated rice straw (RS) and supplemented with either sole or combined fodder tree leaves [Leucaena (L), Samanea (S) or Gliricidia (G) and their equal combinations]. The preference index (PI) was determined by consumption difference of the three fodder tree leaves (FTL), using 12 FT sheep (6 rams and 6 ewes of average weight 17.0 ± 1 kg). The sheep were offered the FTL in a cafeteria-style, and the consumption within the first 1 h was used to rank them. The sheep showed marked preference (P < 0.0001) for Leucaena over either Samanea or Gliricidia. The PI followed this order: Leucaena > Samanea > Gliricidia. For the VFI study, a total of 24 FT sheep (16 rams and 8 ewes) of average weight 17.0 ± 1.0 kg were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments were T1 (100% urea-ammoniated straw), T2 (RS + 100% L), T3 (RS + 100% S), T4 (RS + 100% G), T5 (RS + 50% L: 50% S), T6 (RS + 50% L: 50% G), T7 (RS + 50% G: 50% S), T8 (RS + 33% L: 33% G: 33% S). There were significant differences in the total and straw DM intakes. Total DM intake ranged from (523 to 694 g/d) whilst straw DM intake ranged from (430 to 692 g/d). The highest (P < 0.0001) total and straw DM intake were observed in sheep fed T8 and T1 diets compared to the other treatment diets. Feeding sole Gliricidia resulted in the lowest straw and total DM intakes but combining it with either Leucaena or Samanea improved intakes. In the digestibility study, 16 rams (average weight = 17.0 ± 1.0 kg) and same treatments for the VFI study were used to determine DM digestibility (DMD) and digestible organic matter in dry matter (DOMD). The DMD values ranged from 52.50% to 67.20 % while the DOMD was between 55.14 and 70.36%. Feeding T1 resulted in the highest (P = 0.027) DMD, and (P < 0.0001) DOMD but combining the FTL improved DMD and DOMD for the supplemented diets. The results of the study indicated that feeding combined FTL (3 FTL) resulted in a similar performance as that of the urea-ammoniated straw and could be used a low-cost protein supplement for sheep on low-quality roughage.
The study aimed at assessing the effects of season on chemical composition of forages selected by sheep grazing in a citrus plantation. Forage species growing in a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) plantation were identified and sampled monthly for 2 years. Samples were bulked on monthly basis for chemical analysis. The average dry matter content of the forages increased from the rainy to the dry season but effects of season on the chemical components were inconsistent. Some species, such as Asystasia gangetica, had a higher crude protein concentration in the dry season, whereas for others, such as Panicum repens, the reverse occurred. However, average concentrations of crude protein, detergent fiber and components of fiber for all species for the rainy season were not significantly different from the dry season values. It was concluded that there were differences among forage species in their responses to changing seasons, such that grazing ruminants may select a diet to enable them to meet their nutritional requirements, provided forage biomass is adequate. ResumenEn una plantación de naranjos (Citrus sinensis) se evaluaron los efectos de la época del año sobre la composición quí-mica de las plantas seleccionadas por ovejas pastando la vegetación espontánea en la plantación. Cada mes y durante 2 años se identificaron las especies consumidas y se tomaron muestras para análisis químico. El contenido promedio de materia seca de los forrajes se incrementó de la época lluviosa hacia la época seca, pero el efecto en los otros componentes químicos no fue consistente. Algunas especies, como Asystasia gangetica, presentaron una mayor concentración de proteína cruda durante la época seca, mientras que en otras especies, p.ej. Panicum repens, ocurrió lo contrario. En la época de lluvias las concentraciones promedio de proteína cruda, fibra detergente y componentes de la fibra en todas las especies no fueron significativamente diferentes de los valores de la estación seca. Se concluye que las diferencias encontradas entre las especies en sus respuestas a los cambios de estación les permiten a los animales en pastoreo seleccionar una dieta adecuada para satisfacer sus necesidades nutricionales, siempre y cuando la cantidad de la biomasa forrajera ofrecida sea adecuada.
Fodder tree leaves (FTL) are limitless nutrient resources that provide high-quality feed, particularly during the dry season, improving animal diets, and reducing the use of concentrates in ruminant livestock farming. In order to determine the benefits of FTL, two experiments were conducted to measure the voluntary feed intake (VFI), growth performance, and nitrogen utilization of forest type (FT) sheep fed rice straw (RS) and supplemented with either Leucaena leucocephala (LEU) or Samanea saman (SAM) or their equal combination (LS). For the growth trial (Experiment 1), 12 male FT sheep with mean initial body weight (BW) of 17.0 ± 1.0 kg (mean ± SD) were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design. The diets were Urea-treated RS (UTS) (Control), RS + L (LEU), RS + S (SAM), and RS + 50% L + 50% S (LS). After 14 days of adjustment period, feed intakes and refusals were recorded daily whereas BW was recorded bi-weekly for 12 weeks. Four rams weighing 17.0 ± 1.0 kg BW, were randomly assigned to the four treatments over a four period in a repeated (4 × 4) Latin square design to estimate the nitrogen (N) balance study (Experiment 2). Treatment diets were the same as that of Experiment 1. Dry matter intake of straw was highest (P = 0.0001) for sheep fed UTS. However, combining L with S increased (P = 0.0001) straw DM intake compared to feeding L or S alone. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in total feed intake between sheep offered UTS and LS, but both were significantly higher (P = 0.0001) than those offered LEU and SAM. Body weight gain (3.70 kg) and growth rate (196.15 g/d) were highest (P = 0.0001) for sheep offered LS compared to the other treatment groups. Values for N balance differed (P = 0.0001) among treatment diets. N balance for LUE and LS supplemented diets were higher than that of SAM but all were higher (P = 0.0001) than those offered UTS. Leucaena and/ Samanea leaves could, therefore, be utilized as supplement to poor quality straws to improve the productivity of small ruminants especially during the long dry seasons in the tropics.
This study aimed at investigating the effect of the seasonal decline in quality and availability of feed on rumen function in sheep grazing without supplementation. Effects of season on rumen pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration and rumen degradation of urea-treated rice straw in grazing sheep were determined. Four fistulated Djallonké sheep were added to a group of grazing sheep and used for this study. Rumen contents were sampled for pH and ammonia in the rainy season and in the dry season. Ammoniated rice straw was incubated in the rumen to determine its degradation characteristics. Rumen pH was higher (p < 0.1) in the dry season than in the rainy season. Rumen ammonia nitrogen concentrations on the other hand were similar (p > 0.05) in the two seasons. In sacco dry matter degradation parameters of urea-ammoniated rice straw showed seasonal differences in the soluble (a) and the insoluble but degradable (b) fractions as well as lag time before the start of degradation. It was concluded that despite higher pH in the dry season and similar ammonia nitrogen concentration in the two seasons, rumen degradability of dry matter of urea-treated rice straw in sheep was higher in the rainy season than that in the dry season.
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