Feeding behaviour, feed intake, chemical and botanical composition of the diet of indigenous goats raised on natural vegetation in a semi-arid region of Zimbabwe

Nyamangara, M.E.; Ndlovu, L.R.

doi:10.1017/s002185960007341x

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Our results suggest a limited ability of goats to reduce CT intake rate in the dry season, and we found higher amounts and rates of CT intake during dry season. This was in line with findings of other studies [ 52 , 53 ]. One explanation for this is the loss of leaves among deciduous trees during the dry season.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Seasonal regulation of condensed tannin consumption by free-ranging goats in a semi-arid savanna

et al. 2018

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Although condensed tannins (CTs) are known to reduce forage intake by mammalian herbivores in controlled experiments, few studies have tested these effects in the field. Thus the role of CTs on foraging ecology of free-ranging herbivores is inadequately understood. To investigate the effects of CTs under natural savanna conditions, we pre-dosed groups of goats with polyethylene glycol (PEG, a CT-neutralising chemical), CT powder or water before observing their foraging behaviour. While accounting for the effects of season and time of the day, we tested the hypothesis that herbivores forage in ways that reduce the intake rate (g DM per minute) of CTs. We expected pre-dosing goats with CTs to reduce CT intake rates by (1) consuming diets low in CTs, (2) reducing bite rates, (3) increasing the number of foraging bouts, or (4) reducing the length of foraging bouts. Lastly, (5) expected CT to have no influence the number of dietary forage species. In both wet and dry seasons, pre-dosing goats with CTs resulted in lower CT consumption rates compared to PEG goats which seemed relieved from the stress associated with CT consumption. During dry season, the number of dietary forage species was similar across treatments, although goats that were dosed with PEG significantly increased this number in the wet season. Dosing goats with PEG increased the number and length of browsing bouts compared to goats from the other treatments. Pre-loading goats with PEG also tended to increase bite rates on browse forages, which contributed to increased consumption rates of CTs. Based on the behavioural adjustments made by goats in this study and within the constraints imposed by chemical complexity in savanna systems, we concluded that herbivores under natural conditions foraged in ways that minimised CTs consumption. More research should further elucidate the mechanism through which CTs regulated feeding behaviour.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Seasonal regulation of condensed tannin consumption by free-ranging goats in a semi-arid savanna

et al. 2018

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“…According to Singh and Oosting [35] if the roughage contains above 65% NDF, it is considered as poor quality feed. Moreover, Norton [33] indicated that the NDF content that ranged from 67% to 78% to be high enough to limit DM intake and digestibility, yet the study by Nyamangara and Ndlovu [36] with goats on natural vegetation with NDF contents of between 59% and 79%, indicates that this cell wall component in the foliage should be adequately degraded. Higher NDF in browse comparing with result of Aster et al [28] 34.14% and Beyene et al [26] 33.29 is attributed in the sampling procedures where fine stems and dry pod were included which have higher lignin contents than leaves and hence high NDF.…”

Section: Chemical Composition and In Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Characterization of Selected Fodder Species in Abol and Lare Districts of Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Megersa¹,

Mengistu²,

Asebe³

2017

J Nutr Food Sci

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In Ethiopia the commonly identified feed resource are natural pasture, crop residue, improved pasture and forages, agro-industrial by-products, other by-products like food and vegetable refusal, of which the first two contribute the largest share. This research was done with the objective of nutritional characterization of selected forage species in two districts of Gambella regional state Lare and Abol, Southwest Ethiopia. The study was done using a formal survey, focus group discussions and field observations followed by sample collection, chemical analysis and In vitro Dry Matter Digestibility (IVDMD) of selected grass and browse species. Purposive sampling was employed to select 90 Households (HHs) having livestock. Four grasses and 10 browses species were collected during November to December 2013 and their nutritive values were evaluated. The average Crude Protein (CP) was 11.51% for the grasses and 13.16% for the browses, respectively. The average neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content was 75.37% for grasses and 56.43% for browse species whereas the IVDMD of grasses and browses were 64.45% and 59.3%, respectively. The selected grasses and browse species were good potential as livestock feed in the area and is recommended if further analysis in more species and study sites in the area.

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“…Despite the costs involved in searching, recognition and selection of food items in spatially heterogeneous habitats, free-ranging herbivores select food items that maximise energy and nutrient intake (Gross et al 1993, Nyamangara and Ndlovu 1995, Ngwa et al 2000. Also, browsers select plants on the basis of trade-offs between the benefits derived from digestible dry matter as opposed to costs associated with antiherbivory substances such as the phenolics in the browse (McArthur et al 1993).…”

Section: Browse Chemistry and Its Influence On Preferencementioning

confidence: 99%

Cattle diet selection during the hot-dry season in a semi-arid region of Namibia

Katjiua¹,

Ward²

2006

African Journal of Range & Forage Science

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The northern Kalahari Desert is dominated by Terminalia sericea savanna woodland and a sparse herbaceous layer. Range ecologists regard T. sericea as a major encroaching species and that such encroachment represents a cost to cattle production. In contrast, pastoralists regard this woody species as an important component of cattle diet, particularly during the hot-dry season or during drought. In this study, free-ranging cattle were observed during the peak of the pre-rain flushing period of deciduous plants during the hot-dry seasons of 2001 and 2002. Diet preference was evaluated by taking into account the proportion of diet consumed relative to its availability on the range. Diet preference was compared to diet quality. Cattle spent 71% of time feeding on browse during the hot-dry season. Terminalia sericea, Bauhinia petersiana and Philenoptera nelsii contributed 74.5% to browse consumption. Philenoptera nelsii was the most preferred browse. Generally, cattle preferred browse with high crude protein and phosphorus content but avoided browse with high fibre content. This study confirmed the long-term observations by local pastoralists that woody species contribute significantly to cattle diet during the hot-dry season in the northern Kalahari. We recommend that rehabilitation of encroached rangelands should take into account the role of browse in semi-arid environments.

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Feeding behaviour, feed intake, chemical and botanical composition of the diet of indigenous goats raised on natural vegetation in a semi-arid region of Zimbabwe

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 publications

Seasonal regulation of condensed tannin consumption by free-ranging goats in a semi-arid savanna

Seasonal regulation of condensed tannin consumption by free-ranging goats in a semi-arid savanna

Nutritional Characterization of Selected Fodder Species in Abol and Lare Districts of Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Cattle diet selection during the hot-dry season in a semi-arid region of Namibia

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