Goats, unlike cattle, disperse few viable mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) seeds in feces. However, there is some evidence that goats may suffer from toxicosis from overingestion of mesquite pods. We assessed the likelihood that short-term ingestion of mesquite pods would induce toxicosis in goats. Twenty-four goats were randomly allocated to one of four treatments with treatments fed different concentrations (0%, 30%, 60%, or 90% of the diet) of whole mesquite pods fed with alfalfa pellets. The mixture of mesquite pods and alfalfa pellets was fed for 12 d to 14 d. Because there were only 12 pens available for the study, two trials were used so that all 24 goats could be housed in individual pens. Intake, serum metabolite levels, and fecal output were measured to assess physiological status. In Trial 1, intake and fecal output decreased on days 12 through 14 for goats consuming a diet of 90% mesquite pods. In the second trial, intake and fecal output were similar across days of feeding within each treatment, but the trial only lasted 12 d. Serum metabolite levels remained within normal levels irrespective of the amount of mesquite pods in the diet in both trials. Goats appear to be able to consume mesquite pods on a short-term basis without experiencing toxicosis. 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. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.