Selection of diets by dual-purpose Mamber goats in Mediterranean woodland

Abstract

The feeding behaviour of Mamber dairy goats grazing on Mediterranean woodland in the Upper Galilee mountains of Israel was studied throughout a year (1991/92). The percentages of crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and condensed tannins (CT) were determined in samples collected by hand to simulate the plant parts selected by the goats. Total feed intake was evaluated by using Cr-sesquioxide as an external marker to determine the amount of faeces excreted, and 48 h in sacco degradability to assess the digestibility of samples. Overall, more time was spent by goats in feeding on ligneous material (tree and shrub foliage) than herbaceous vegetation (60 and 40% of total feeding time, respectively, P<0·05). The main ligneous species consumed by the goats were Quercus calliprinos, Sarcopoterium spinosum and Calicotome villosa (20, 13 and 7% of total grazing time, respectively). There was considerable variability in the 48 h dry matter (DM) in sacco degradability, and in the concentration of CP, NDF, ADF, ADL and CT, within and between seasons and plant species. Although requirements for nutrients varied according to the physiological stage of the goats, 48 h in sacco DM degradability and the concentration of non-ADF linked (available) CP, NDF, ADF, ADL and CT in the diet did not vary greatly: respective ranges were 45·0–49·4; 9–12·5; 44–53; 33–39; 12–17 and 3·5–4·7%. It is concluded that Mamber goats (i) may not select the best quality diet available, but may avoid wide variations in nutrient content of their diets throughout the year; and (ii) may not select a diet consistent with maximization of milk yield, but rather with optimization of body condition at the onset of the mating season.

In vitro assessment of nutritive value of date palm by-products as feed for ruminants

“…The DPBP studied herein are commonly used as feedstuffs for small ruminants farmed in Mediterranean rangelands (Kababya et al, 1998). Dates are used as fresh fruits for human consumption, and date by-products are used to A: Asymptotic gas production (mL g -1 DM); ED: Extent of degradation for a fractional passage rate of 0.03 h -1 ; D144: DM disappearance after 144 h of incubation (g g −1 DM); G24: Gas production at 24 h of incubation (mL g -1 DM); CP: Crude protein; NDF: Neutral detergent fiber; ADF: Acid detergent fiber; ADL: Acid detergent lignin; c: Fractional rate of gas production (h −1 ); NFC: Non-fiber carbohydrates.…”

No Major Role for Binding by Salivary Proteins as a Defense Against Dietary Tannins in Mediterranean Goats

“…According to the "niche theory", goats, which include a significant amount of tannin-rich browse in their diets (Kababya et al 1998;Landau et al 2002), should produce salivary tannin-binding proteins. In particular, Damascus goats, which behave more as "browsers" than Mamber goats (Glasser 2009), should produce more TBSPs.…”

“…Domestic ruminants employ a variety of behavioral mechanisms to cope with dietary tannins, such as avoidance (sheep; Titus et al 2000), modified meal patterns (cattle; Landau et al 2000), and foraging selectivity that maintains dietary tannins all year-long in a narrow range of concentration (goats; Kababya et al 1998) that may be beneficial (Mueller-Harvey 2006). In addition, herbivores may use associations between classes of PSMs to reciprocally neutralize their deleterious effects (Lyman et al 2008;Mote et al 2008).…”

Chemical composition and digestibility of some browse plant species collected from Algerian arid rangelands

“…However, in spite of their abundance, many wild browse and bush species have been generally undervalued mainly because of insufficient knowledge about their potential feeding value. Some of the ligneous species studied herein are consumed to a certain degree by small ruminants grazing in Mediterranean rangelands (Kababya et al, 1998). These forage species may be complementary to the annual herbaceous vegetation as fodder from these species is available at different times of the year, considering their phenology and growth season (Delillis & Fontanella, 1992).…”