Season and plant species influence foraging efficiency of Nguni goats in pens

References

• Abate , A. 1996 . Foraging preferences and diet quality of livestock indigenous to dry areas . Bulletin of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa , 7.1 : 6 – 10 .
   Google Scholar
• Anon . 2004 . Trends in the agricultural sector , Pretoria : Department of Agriculture .
   Google Scholar
• Breebaart , L , Bhikraj , R and O’Connor , T G . 2002 . Dietary overlap between Boer goats and indigenous browsers in a South African savanna . African Journal of Range and Forage Science , 19 : 13 – 20 .
   Google Scholar
• Coates-Palgrave , M. 2002 . Trees of Southern Africa , 3rd edn , Cape Town : Struik Publishers .
   Google Scholar
• Cooper , S M and Owen-Smith , N . 1985 . Condensed tannins deter feeding by browsing ruminants in a South African savanna . Oecologia , 67 : 142 – 146 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooper , S M and Owen-Smith , N . 1986 . Effects of plant spinescence on large mammalian herbivores . Oecologia , 68 : 446 – 455 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooper , S M , Owen-Smith , N and Bryant , J P . 1988 . Foliage acceptability to browsing ruminants in relation to seasonal changes in leaf chemistry of woody plants in a South African savanna . Oecologia , 75 : 336 – 342 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dziba , L E , Scogings , P F , Gordon , I J and Raats , J G . 2003 . Effects of season and breed on browse species intake rates and diet selection by goats in the False Thornveld of the Eastern Cape, South Africa . Small Ruminant Research , 47 : 17 – 30 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dziba , L E , Hall , J O and Provenza , F D . 2006 . Feeding behavior of lambs in relation to kinetics of 1,8-cineole dosed intravenously and into the rumen . Journal of Chemical Ecology , 32 : 391 – 408 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Foley , W J , Iason , G R and McArthur , C . 1999 . “ Role of plant secondary metabolites in the nutritional ecology of mammalian herbivores: how far have we come in 25 years? ” . In Nutritional Ecology of Herbivores: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Herbivore Nutrition , Edited by: H-JG , Jung and Fahey , G C Jr . 130 – 209 . Savoy, Illinois : American Society of Animal Science .
   Google Scholar
• Gordon , I J , Illius , A W and Milne , J D . 1996 . Sources of variation in the foraging efficiency of grazing ruminants . Functional Ecology , 10 : 219 – 226 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gowda , JH. 1996 . Spines of Acacia tortilis: what do they defend and how? . Oikos , 77 : 279 – 284 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Haschick , S L and Kerley , G IH . 1997 . Browse intake rates by bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and boar goats (Capra hircus) . African Journal of Ecology , 35 : 146 – 155 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Makkar , HPS. 1995 . Quantification of Tannins: a Laboratory Manual , Aleppo : International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas .
   Google Scholar
• Mbuti , M C , Scogings , P F , Raats , J G and Beckerling , A C . 1996 . The effect of stocking rate and time on species selection by goats . Bulletin of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa , 7.1 : 77
   Google Scholar
• Mucina , L and Rutherford , M C , eds. 2006 . The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19 , Pretoria : South African National Biodiversity Institute .
   Google Scholar
• Ortega-Reyes , L and Provenza , F D . 1993 . Experience with blackbrush affects ingestion of shrub live oak by goats . Journal of Animal Science , 71 : 380 – 383 .
   Google Scholar
• Owen-Smith , N and Cooper , S M . 1987 . A palatability classification of the woody plants in a South African savanna with reference to browsing ruminants . Ecology , 68 : 319 – 331 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pfister , J A , Provenza , F D , Manners , G D , Gardner , D R and Ralphs , M H . 1997 . Tall larkspur ingestion: can cattle regulate intake below toxic levels . Journal of Chemical Ecology , 23 : 759 – 777 .
   Google Scholar
• Porter , L J , Hrstich , L N and Chan , B G . 1986 . The conversion of procyanidins and prodelphinidins to cyanadin and delphinidin . Phytochemistry , 25 : 223 – 230 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Provenza , F D , Burritt , E A , Clausen , T P , Bryant , J P , Reichardt , P B and Distel , R A . 1990 . Conditioned flavor aversion: a mechanism for goats to avoid condensed tannins in blackbrush . American Naturalist , 136 : 810 – 828 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• 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 Research , 49 : 257 – 274 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ramsay , K , Harris , L and Kotze , A . 2001 . Landrace Breeds: South Africa's Indigenous and Locally Developed Farm Animals , Pretoria : Farm Animal Conservation Trust .
   Google Scholar
• Scogings , P F , Dziba , L E and Gordon , I J . 2004 . Leaf chemistry of woody plants in relation to season, canopy retention and goat browsing in a semi-arid subtropical savanna . Austral Ecology , 29 : 278 – 286 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sebata , A and Ndlovu , L R . 2010 . Effect of leaf size, thorn density and leaf accessibility on instantaneous intake rates of five woody species browsed by Matebele goats (Capra hircus L.) in a semi-arid savanna, Zimbabwe . Journal of Arid Environments , 74 : 1281 – 1286 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shipley , LA. 2007 . The influence of bite size on foraging at larger spatial and temporal scales by mammalian herbivores . Oikos , 116 : 1964 – 1974 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shipley , L A and Spalinger , D E . 1992 . Mechanics of browsing in dense food patches: Influence of plant and animal morphology on intake rate . Canadian Journal of Zoology , 70 : 1743 – 1752 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shipley , L A , Gross , J E , Spalinger , D E , Hobbs , N T and Wunder , B A . 1994 . The scaling of intake rate in mammalian herbivores . American Naturalist , 143 : 1055 – 1082 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shipley , L A , Illius , A W , Danell , K , Hobbs , N T and Spalinger , D E . 1999 . Predicting bite size selection of mammalian herbivores: a test of a general model of diet optimization . Oikos , 84 : 55 – 68 .
   Google Scholar
• Ungar , ED. 1996 . “ Ingestive behaviour ” . In The Ecology and Management of Grazing Systems , Edited by: Hodgson , J and Illius , A W . 185 – 218 . London : CABI International .
   Google Scholar
• Van Der Linden , J P , Siebert , S J , Siebert , F , Ferreira , D P and Bredenkamp , G T . 2005 . Vegetation of the Owen Sitole College of Agriculture in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal . Koedoe , 48 : 33 – 56 .
   Google Scholar
• van Soest , P J , Robertson , J B and Lewis , B A . 1991 . Methods for dietery fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition . Journal of Dairy Science , 74 : 3583 – 3597 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wilson , S L and Kerley , G IH . 2003 . The effect of plant spinescence on the foraging efficiency of bushbuck and Boer goats: browsers of similar body size . Journal of Arid Environments , 55 : 150 – 158 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zar , JH. 1999 . Biostatistical Analysis , 4th edn , Upper Saddle River : Prentice-Hall .
   Google Scholar