Tropical foliages: effect of presentation method and species on intake by goats

The effect of method of presentation of foliages of Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit, JF), Flemingia macrophylla (FM) and Acacia mangium (AC) fed separately or in mixtures on feed intake and behaviour of goats was evaluated in two experiments. In Experiment 1 (Exp. 1), 48 goats were used in two periods. In each period, animals were allotted to four methods of presentation: (1) whole foliages chopped and put in the trough; (2) whole foliage hanging from the wall of the pen; (3) whole foliage tied in the trough; (4) leaves stripped and placed in the trough together with tied twigs. Each method was tested on the three different foliage species. In Experiment 2 (Exp. 2), 64 weaned kids were allotted to four treatment groups: (1) 500 g JF + 500 g FM/kg feed (JF + FM); (2) 500 g JF + 500 g AC/kg feed (JF + AC); (3) 500 g FM + 500 g AC/kg feed (FM + AC); (4) 333 g JF + 333 g FM + 333 g AC/kg feed (JF + FM + AC). The foliage was presented to the animals either hanging from the wall of the pen or tied in the trough. The length of each period in Exp. 1 and Exp. 2 was 21 days, with the last 7 days for data collection. During the last 3 days of each period in Exp. 1, two kids in each treatment were chosen for observation of behaviour. The animals were fed foliage ad libitum equal to 130% of intake of fresh matter the previous day and concentrate at 1% of body weight (BW). In Exp. 1, the highest dry matter intake (DMI) was of JF foliage (637 g/day) and lowest intake of AC foliage (138 g/day). FM and AC had a higher proportion of stems in feed consumed compared to foliage offered, while for JF this proportion was lower. Hanging whole foliage from the wall of the pen or tying in the trough resulted in significantly higher intake, while chopping gave the lowest intake. The highest DMI of AC and FM was recorded with hanging, while the highest DMI of JF was recorded with tying. Total eating time of kids fed chopped foliage was lowest compared to the other methods of offering the foliage. In Exp. 2, kids showed higher daily intakes of mixtures of JF + FM and JF + FM + AC and lower intakes of mixtures of IF + AC or FM + AC. A higher intake of mixtures of JF + AC or FM + AC was recorded with hanging, while a higher intake of mixtures of JF + FM or JF + FM + AC was recorded with tying. The method of presentation seemed to be more important for foliages of low intake potential, such as FM or AC than for JF. The animals selected JF first in all mixtures and the mixture giving the highest intake was JF + FM. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.