Diet selection of goats depends on season: roles of plant physical and chemical traits

References

• Alexandre G, Mondonnet N. 2005. Goat meat production in harsh environments. Small Ruminant Research 60: 53–66.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Alonso-Díaz MA, Torres-Acosta JFJ, Sandoval-Castro CA, Hoste H, Aguilar-Caballero AJ, Capetillo-Leal CM. 2008. Is goats’ preference of forage trees affected by their tannin or fiber content when offered in cafeteria experiments? Animal Feed Science and Technology 141: 36–48.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists). 1997. Official Methods of Analysis (16th edn). Method 990.03, Crude protein in animal feeds: combustion method. Arlington: AOAC.
   Google Scholar
• Baraza E, Hodar JA, Zamora R. 2009. Consequences of plant chemical diversity on domestic goat food preference in Mediterranean forest. Acta Oecologica 35: 117–127.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Basha NAD, Scogings PF, Dziba LE, Nsahlai IV. 2012. Diet selection of Nguni goats in relation to season, chemistry and physical properties of browse in sub-humid subtropical savanna. Small Ruminant Research 102: 163–171.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bosman HG, Moll HAJ, Udo HMJ. 1997. Measuring and interpreting the benefits of goat keeping in tropical farm systems. Agricultural Systems 53: 349–372.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Coates Palgrave K. 1992. Trees of southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers.
   Google Scholar
• Cooper SM, 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 SM, Owen-Smith N. 1986. Effects of plant spinescence on large mammalian herbivores. Oecologia 68: 446–455.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooper SM, Owen-Smith N, Bryant JP. 1988. Foliage acceptability to browsing ruminants in relation to seasonal changes in the leaf chemistry of woody plants in a South African savanna. Oecologia 75: 446–455.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Devendra C. 1978. The digestive efficiency of goats. World Review of Animal Production 14: 9–12.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Devendra C, McLeroy GB. 1982. Goat and sheep production in the tropics. London: Longman Group.
   Google Scholar
• Dumont B, Rook AJ, Coran Ch, Rover KU. 2007. Effects of livestock breed and grazing intensity on biodiversity and production in grazing systems. 2. Diet selection. Grass and Forage Science 62: 159–171.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dziba LE, Scogings PF, Gordon IJ, Raats JG. 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
• Fomum SW. 2012. Diet selection and foraging efficiency of Nguni goats in the Bushveld of Gauteng, South Africa. MSc thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
   Google Scholar
• Goetsch AL, Gipson TA, Askar AR, Pachala R. 2010. Feeding behavior of goats. Journal Animal Science 88: 361–373.
   PubMed 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
• Hanley TA. 1997. A nutritional view of understanding and complexity in the problem of diet selection by deer (Cervidae). Oikos 79: 209–218.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Haschick SL, Kerley GIH. 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
• Jansen DAWAM, van Langevelde F, de Boer WF, Kirkman KP. 2007. Optimisation or satiation, testing diet selection rules in goats. Small Ruminant Research 73: 160–168.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kowalczyk R, Taberlet P, Coissac E, Vatentini A, Miquel C, Kaminski T, Wojcik JM. 2011. Influence of management practices on large herbivore diet- Case of European bison in Bialoweza Primeeval Forest (Poland). Forest Ecology and Management 261: 821–828.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lebbie SHB, Ramsay K. 1999. A perspective on conservation and management of small ruminant genetic resources in the sub-Saharan Africa. Small Ruminant Research 34: 231–247.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Makkar HPS. 1995. Quantification of tannins: a laboratory manual. Aleppo: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.
   Google Scholar
• Mkhize NR, Scogings PF, Dziba LE, Nsahlai IV. 2011. Season and plant species influence foraging efficiency of Nguni goats in pens. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 28: 29–34.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mucina L, Rutherford MC (eds). 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute.
   Google Scholar
• Newman JA, Parsons AJ, Thornley JHM, Penning PD, Krebs JR. 1995. Optimal diet selection by a generalist grazing herbivore. Functional Ecology 9: 255–268.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nyamangara ME, Ndlovu LR. 1995. 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. Journal of Agricultural Science 124: 455–46I.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• O'Connor TG. 1996. Individual, population and community response of woody plants to browsing in African savannas. Bulletin of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa 7: 14–18.
   Google Scholar
• O'Connor TG, Crow VRT. 1999. Rate and pattern of bush encroachment in Eastern Cape savanna and grassland. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 16: 26–31.
   Google Scholar
• Odeyinka S. 2000. Feeding behaviour and diet selection by West Dwarf Goats. Archiv Tierzucht 43: 57–61.
   Google Scholar
• Owen-Smith N, Cooper SM. 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
• Porter LJ, Hrstich LN, Chan BG. 1986. The conversion of procyanidins and prodelphinidins to cyanadin and delphinidin. Phytochemistry 25: 223–230.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ramirez RG, Rios E, Garza J. 1993. Nutritional profile and intake of forage grazed by Spanish goats in a semi-arid land. Journal of Applied Animal Research 3: 113–122.
   Google Scholar
• Roets MR, Kirsten JF. 2005. Commercialization of goat production in South Africa. Small Ruminant Research 60: 187–196.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Scholes RJ, Archer SR. 1997. Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28: 517–544.
   Google Scholar
• Scogings PF, Dziba LE, Gordon IJ. 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, Ndlovu LR. 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
• Sebata A, Ndlovu LR. 2012. Effect of shoot morphology on browse selection by free ranging goats in a semi-arid savanna. Livestock Science 44: 96–102.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shipley LA, Blomquist S, Denell K. 1998. Diet selection made by free-ranging moose in northern Sweden in relation to plant distribution, chemistry and morphology. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76: 1722–1733.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Trollope WSW, Hobson FO, Danckwerts JE, van Niekerk JP. 1989. Encroachment and control of undesirable plants. In: Danckwerts JE, Teague WR (eds), Veld management in the Eastern Cape. Pretoria: Department of Agriculture and Water Supply. pp 73–89.
   Google Scholar
• van der Linden JP, Siebert SJ, Siebert F, Ferreira DP, Bredenkamp GT. 2005. Vegetation of the Owen Sitole College of Agriculture in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal. Koedoe 48: 33–56.
   Google Scholar
• van Soest PJ, Robertson JB, Lewis BA. 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
• Ward D. 2005. Do we understand the causes of bush encroachment in African savannas? African Journal of Range and Forage Science 22: 101–105.
   Google Scholar
• Watson LH, Owen-Smith N. 2002. Phenological influences on the utilization of woody plants by eland in semi-arid shrubland. African Journal of Ecology 40: 65–75.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Woodward A, Coppock DL. 1995. Role of plant defense in the utilization of native browse in southern Ethiopia. Agroforestry Systems 32: 147–161.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar