database, the effects of the chemical composition of the diets, within each weight class, could not be tested appropriately. Nevertheless, it could be observed that mean intake in the weight classes above 20 kg was lower than in lighter weight classes, probably due to a particularly high mean dietary NDF concentration (55% between 20.1 and 25 kg of live weight) or, on the contrary, due to an excessive concentrate level in the diet (79% of concentrates for live weights over 25 kg). Moreover, the kids classified as ‘Mediterranean’ include breeds that differ among themselves and could have different intake and digestive capacity of poor-quality forage. In this regard, Silanikove (1986), Lu and Potchoiba (1990) and Urgeet al. (2004) demonstrated breed effects on intake.
In conclusion, the prediction of intake of growing goats of Mediterranean breeds using the database created from literature data was unfeasible, because of the wide variability of the breeds and the diets considered in the experimental trials. Therefore, further experimental data or different approaches are required.
is possible to note some influence of feed characteristics on their intake capacity.
In particular, the dietary CP level, generally rather low, was significantly posi- tively correlated with intake (r= 0.81). In addition, there was no close correla- tion between digestibility and NDF in the diet.
DM intake (g/kg BW)
Live weight (kg)
Dry-off to 4th month of pregnancy
5th month of pregnancy
40 67.3 61.0
50 63.8 58.0
60 61.7 56.1
70 60.7 55.4
80 59.8 54.6
BW, body weight.
Table 7.7. Dry matter (DM) intake of dry and pregnant goats. (Adapted from Morand-Fehr and Sauvant, 1988.)
Breed Diet
Experimental plan
DM intake (g/BW0.75)
DM digestibility
(%)
CP (% of DM)
NDF (% of DM) Blanca
Celtibericaa
Atriplex halimus
[–] 74.7 50.5 13.8 52.4
Sardab Pistacia lentiscus leaves and concentrate
Control 46.6 66.1 12.2 43.2
25 g PEG/day
50.3 68.3 12.0 43.1
50 g PEG/day
48.3 68.5 11.8 43.0
Maltesec Hay and concentrates
Traditional 67.9 76.4 12.6 39.9
Free choice 46.0 59.6 11.4 40.1
Spanish local breedd
Pasture with or without supplement
April–May May–June June–July
34.9 61.6 45.5
– – –
10.0 12.5 8.7
40.4 51.1 53.1 Granadinae Shrubs and
trees pasture
[–] 35.7 53.1 8.8 51.6
BW, body weight; CP, crude protein; NDF, neutral-detergent fibre; PEG, polyethylene glycol.
Data source:aValderrabanoet al. (1996);bDecandiaet al. (2000);cFedeleet al. (2002);dGarcíaet al. (1995);eMolina Alcaideet al. (1997).
Table 7.8. Dry matter (DM) intake and digestibility of non-pregnant dry goats in various feeding conditions.
References
Abijaoudé, J.A., Morand-Fehr, P., Tessier, J., Schmidely, P. and Sauvant, D. (2000) Contri- bution of main and secondary meals to the daily intake of stall-housed dairy goats in mid lactation. In: Ledin, I. and Morand-Fehr, P. (eds) Sheep and Goats Nutrition: Intake, Digestion, Quality of Products and Rangeland.Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes 52, 33–37.
Anbarasu, C., Dutta, N., Sharma, K. and Rawat, M. (2004) Response of goats to partial replacement of dietary protein by leaf meal mixture containingLeucaena leucocephala, Morus albaandTectona grandis.Small Ruminant Research51, 47–56.
Andrade, H., Bernal, G. and Llamas, G. (1996) Influence of different alfalfa sorghum ratios in the diet of dairy goats on productivity and rumen turnover.Small Ruminant Research 21, 77–82.
Aregheore, M. (1996) Voluntary intake and nutrient digestibility of crop-residue based rations by goats and sheep.Small Ruminant Research22, 7–12.
Aregheore, M. (2004) Nutritive value of sweet potato (Ipomea batatas(L) Lam) forage as goat feed: voluntary intake, growth and digestibility of mixed rations of sweet potato and batiki grass (Ischaemum aristatumvar.indicum).Small Ruminant Research51, 235–241.
Avondo, M., Bordonaro, S., Marletta, D., Guastella, A.M. and D’Urso, G. (2002) A simple model to predict the herbage intake of grazing dairy ewes in semi-extensive Mediter- ranean systems.Livestock Production Science73, 275–283.
Avondo, M., Lutri, L. and Pennisi, P. (2004a) Feeding behaviour of Comisana rams as affected by crude protein level of concentrate. Small Ruminant Research 55, 135–140.
Avondo, M., Pagano, R., Di Grigoli, A., Bonanno, A., Formoso, B., Giambalvo, D. and Scarpello, C. (2004b) Comportamento alimentare di capre Girgentane: effetto del tipo di pascolo e del livello proteico del supplemento. In:Proceedings of the 16th SIPAOC Congress (Atti del XVI Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Patologia e di Allevamento degli Ovini e dei Caprini), Siena, Italy, p. 232 (Abstract).
(Full paper on CD-ROM, 1–4).
Bailoni, L. and Andrighetto, I. (1995) Effetto del rapporto foraggi:concentrati sui parametri digestivo-metabolici e sulle prestazioni produttive di capre primipare in lattazione.
Zootecnia e Nutrizione Animale21, 333–344.
Brown-Crowder, I.E., Hart, S.P., Cameron, M., Sahlu, T. and Goetsch, A.L. (2001) Effects of dietary tallow level on performance of Alpine does in early lactation.Small Ruminant Research39, 233–241.
Brun-Bellut, J. (1996) Urea recycling in the rumen of dairy goats: effects of physiological stage and composition of intake.Small Ruminant Research23, 83–90.
Decandia, M., Sitzia, M., Cabiddu, A., Kababya, D. and Molle, G. (2000) The use of poly- ethylene glycol to reduce the anti-nutritional effects of tannins in goats fed woody species.Small Ruminant Research38, 157–164.
Economides, S. (1998) The nutritive value of sunflower meal and its effect on replacing cereal straw in the diets of lactating ewes and goats.Livestock Production Science 55, 89–97.
Fedele, V., Pizzillo, M., Claps, S., Morand-Fehr, P. and Rubino, R. (1993) Grazing behaviour and diet selection of goats on native pasture in Southern Italy.Small Ruminant Research 11, 305–322.
Fedele, V., Claps, S., Rubino, R., Calandrelli, M. and Pilla, A.M. (2002) Effect of free-choice and traditional feeding systems on goat feeding behaviour and intake.Livestock Pro- duction Science74, 19–31.
Flamant, J.C. and Morand-Fehr, P. (1982) Milk production in sheep and goat. In: Coop, I.E. (ed.)World Animal Science. C. Production-System Approach. 1. Sheep and Goat Production. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 275–295.
Forbes, J.M. (1995)Voluntary Food Intake and Diet Selection in Farm Animals. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
García, M.A., Aguilera, J.F. and Molina Alcaide, E. (1995) Voluntary intake and kinetics of degradation and passage of unsupplemented and supplemented pastures from semiarid lands in grazing goats and sheep. Livestock Production Science 44, 245–255.
Goetsch, A.L., Detweiler, G., Sahlu, T., Puchala, R. and Dawson, L.J. (2001) Dairy goat performance with different dietary concentrate levels in late lactation.Small Rumi- nant Research41, 117–125.
Goetsch, A.L., Detweiler, G., Sahlu, T., Hayes, J. and Puchala, R. (2003) Effects of sepa- rate offering of forage and concentrate on feed intake and growth of Alpine doelings.
Small Ruminant Research48, 209–216.
Gupta, H.K. and Atreja, P.P. (1999) Influence of feeding increasing levels of leucaena leaf meal on the performance of milking goats and metabolism of mimosine and 3- hydroxy-4 (1H) pyridone.Animal Feed Science and Technology78, 159–167.
Hadjipanayiotou, M. (1995) Fractional outflow of soybean meal from the rumen, water intake and ruminal fermentation pattern in sheep and goats at different seasons and age group.Small Ruminant Research17, 137–143.
Hadjipanayiotou, M. (2004) Replacement of barley grain for corn in concentrate diets fed to dairy Damascus goats at different frequencies.Small Ruminant Research51, 229–233.
Hofmann, R.R. (1989) Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and diversifica- tion of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system.Oecologia78, 443–457.
INRA (1988) Jarrige, R. (ed.)Alimentation des bovines, ovins et caprins. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris.
Joemat, R., Goetsch, A.L., Horn, G.W., Sahlu, T., Puchala, R., Min, B.R., Luo, J. and Smuts, M. (2004) Growth of yearling meat goat doelings with changing plane of nutrition.Small Ruminant Research52, 127–135.
Lindberg, J.E. and Gonda, H.L. (1997) Fibre and protein digestion in goats. In: Morand- Fehr, P. (ed.) Recent Advances in Goat Research.Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes 25, 47–58.
Lu, C.D. and Potchoiba, M.J. (1990) Feed intake and weight gain of growing goats fed diets of various energy and protein levels.Journal of Animal Science68, 1751–1759.
Luo, J., Goetsch, A.L., Nsahlai, I.V., Moore, J.E., Galyean, M.L., Johnson, Z.B., Sahlu, T., Ferrell, C.L. and Owens, F.N. (2004) Voluntary feed intake by lactating, Angora, growing and mature goats.Small Ruminant Research53, 357–378.
Mani, V. and Chandra, P. (2003) Effect of feeding irradiated soybean on nutrient intake, digestibility and N-balance in goats.Small Ruminant Research48, 77–81.
Mishra, S. and Rai, S.N. (1996) Effects of different RDP and UDP ratios on voluntary intake, milk production and feed conversion efficiency in lactating goats.Small Ruminant Research20, 31–38.
Molina Alcaide, E., García, M.A. and Aguilera, J.F. (1997) The voluntary intake and rumen digestion by grazing goats and sheep of a low-quality pasture from a semi-arid land.
Livestock Production Science52, 39–47.
Morand-Fehr, P. (2005) Recent developments in goat nutrition and application: a review.
Small Ruminant Research60, 25–43.
Morand-Fehr, P. and Sauvant, D. (1988) Alimentation des caprins. In: Jarrige, R. (ed.) Alimentation des bovins, ovins and caprins. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris, pp. 281–304.
Papachristou, T.G. (1994) Foraging behaviour and nutrition of goats grazing on shrublands of Greece. In: Gordon, I.J. and Rubino, R. (eds) Grazing Behaviour of Goats and Sheep.Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes5, 83–90.
Papachristou, T.G. (1996) Intake, digestibility and nutrient utilization of oriental horn- beam and manna ash as browse by goats and sheep.Small Ruminant Research23, 91–98.
Peyraud, J.L., Delaby, L. and Delagarde, R. (1998) Quantitative approach to nutrition of grazing dairy cows: recent developments. In:Proceedings of the Workshop on ‘Pas- ture Ecology and Animal Intake’, Dublin. Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (TEAGASC), Dunsany, Ireland, pp. 57–75.
Pittroff, W. and Kothmann, M.M. (2001) Quantitative prediction of feed intake in rumi- nants. III. Comparative example calculations and discussion.Livestock Production Science71, 171–181.
Provenza, F.D., Villalba, J.J., Dziba, L.E., Atwood, S.B. and Banner, R.E. (2003) Linking herbivore experience, varied diets, and plant biochemical diversity.Small Ruminant Research49, 257–274.
Pulina, G., Cannas, A., Serra, A. and Vallebella, R. (1991) Determinazione e stima del valore energetico di latte di capre di razza Sarda. In:Proceedings of the XLV Con- gress SISVet, Altavilla Milicia, Italy. Grafiche Scuderi, Messina, Italy, pp. 1779–1781.
Pulina, G., Bettati, T., Serra, F.A. and Cannas, A. (1996) Razi-O: costruzione e validazione di un software per l’alimentazione degli ovini da latte. In:Atti 13∞Congresso Nazionale SIPAOC, Varese, Italy. Società Italiana di Patologia e di Allevamento degli Ovini e dei Caprini, Sassari, Italy, pp. 11–14.
Ramírez, R.G. and Ledezma-Torres, R.A. (1997) Forage utilization from native shrubs Acacia rigidulaandAcacia farnesianaby goats and sheep.Small Ruminant Research 25, 43–50.
Rapetti, L., Bava, L., Tamburini, A. and Crovetto, G.M. (2005) Feeding behaviour, digestibility, energy balance and productive performance of lactating goats fed forage-based and forage-free diets.Italian Journal of Animal Science4, 71–83.
Sahlu, T., Goetsch, A.L., Luo, J., Nsahlai, I.V., Moore, J.E., Galyean, M.L., Owens, F.N., Ferrell, C.L. and Johnson, Z.B. (2004) Nutrient requirements of goats: developed equations, other considerations and future research to improve them.Small Ruminant Research53, 191–219.
Samantha, A.K., Singh, K.K., Das, M.M., Maity, S.B. and Kundu, S.S. (2003) Effect of complete feed block on nutrient utilisation and rumen fermentation in Barbari goats.
Small Ruminant Research48, 95–102.
Sanz Sampelayo, M.R., Perez, L., Martin Alonso, J.J., Gil Extremera, F. and Boza, J.
(2002) Effects of concentrates with different contents of protected fat rich in PUFAs on the performance of lactating Granadina goats. 1. Feed intake, nutrient digest- ibility, N and energy utilization for milk production.Small Ruminant Research 43, 133–139.
Silanikove, N. (1986) Interrelationships between feed quality, digestibility, feed consump- tion, and energy requirements in desert (Bedouin) and temperate (Saanen) goats.
Journal of Dairy Science69, 2157–2162.
Silanikove, N. (2000) The physiological basis of adaptation in goats to harsh environ- ments.Small Ruminant Research35, 181–193.
Urge, M., Merkel, R.C., Sahlu, T., Animut, G. and Goetsch, A.L. (2004) Growth perfor- mance by Alpine, Angora, Boer and Spanish wether goats consuming 50 or 75%
concentrate diets.Small Ruminant Research55, 149–158.
Valderrabano, J., Muñoz, F. and Delgado, I. (1996) Browsing ability and utilization by sheep and goats ofAtriplex halimusL. shrubs.Small Ruminant Research19, 131–136.