Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Consumption of Salt Cedar and Willow Baccharis by Boer-Cross Goats
Author
Muñoz, A.
Garcia, A.
Scott, C.
Owens, C.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

Both salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) and willow baccharis (Baccharis salicina Torr. & Gray) are readily invading rivers, streams, and lake basins throughout Texas. Both outcompete desirable vegetation and reduce biodiversity. The purpose of this study was to determine if goats would consume either plant and if protein supplementation would improve intake. In Trial 1, 36 recently weaned Boer-cross goats were randomly allocated to four treatments. Treatments included feeding salt cedar, willow baccharis, both, or neither plant. Goats were fed salt cedar and/or willow baccharis for 1 h daily for 14 d with intake measured daily. All goats were also fed alfalfa pellets (2% body weight [BW]) throughout the trial to meet maintenance requirements. Goats ate more (P < 0.05) salt cedar than willow baccharis and increased intake of salt cedar over the 14 d of feeding. In Trial 2, 20 recently weaned Boer-cross goats were randomly allocated to two treatments. One treatment received a protein supplement (37%) daily in addition to salt cedar. The other treatment did not receive any additional protein. Regardless of treatment, all goats received alfalfa pellets (2.5% BW) to meet maintenance requirements. Both groups increased intake of salt cedar over 10 d of feeding. Protein supplementation did not improve intake of the plant. Given a choice, goats will consume more salt cedar than willow baccharis and will readily consume the plant. Protein supplementation will not improve intake of the plant, but goats will increase intake of the plant when fed the plant at weaning. © 2017 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information.

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.rama.2016.10.001
Additional Information
Muñoz, A., Garcia, A., Scott, C., & Owens, C. (2017). Consumption of Salt Cedar and Willow Baccharis by Boer-Cross Goats. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 70(3), 374–379.
IISN
1550-7424
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/667428
Journal Volume
70
Journal Number
3
Journal Pages
374-379
Journal Name
Rangeland Ecology & Management
Keywords
experience
intake
Supplementation
toxic