Feeding behaviour of Xhosa lop-eared, Nguni and Nguni x Boer goat genotypes kept on rangelands of the false thornveld

• Main Author: Bakare, Archibold Garikayi
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Fort Hare 2009
• Subjects: Goats > Feeding and feeds; Goats > South Africa; Rangelands > South Africa; Grazing > South Africa; Veld
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/396

Feeding behaviour of Xhosa lop-eared, Nguni and Nguni × Boer goat genotypes kept on rangelands of the False Thornveld By Archibold Garikayi Bakare The study was conducted at the University of Fort Hare farm to assess the feeding behaviour of three goat genotypes: Xhosa lop-eared (XLE), Nguni (NGN) and Nguni × Boer crossbred (NBC) genotypes. The time spent on different activities (grazing, browsing and other activities) on rangelands was recorded using stop watches. The micro-histological faecal analysis technique was used to identify and quantify the plant species that were consumed by the goats across the four seasons. Time spent browsing was high in post-rainy season for XLE (55.94 %) compared to NGN (52.97 %) and crossbred NBC (45.95 %) goats. The high browsing activity was also noted for XLE in hot-wet and cool-dry season (P < 0.05). The NBC goats on the other hand; devoted most of their time grazing compared to XLE and NGN goats across seasons (P < 0.05). Generally, time of day had no effect (P > 0.05) on foraging activities among the goat breeds. Grewia occidentalis, Panicum maximum and Diospyros lycioides were the most preferred plant species by all genotypes across seasons in the paddock. It was concluded that crossbreds spent more time grazing as compared to XLE, which are more of browsers. It could, therefore, be recommended that XLE complement with grazers (cattle and sheep) for efficient management of feed resources in rangelands.