FEEDING-BEHAVIOR, FEED-INTAKE, CHEMICAL AND BOTANICAL COMPOSITION OF THE DIET OF INDIGENOUS GOATS RAISED ON NATURAL VEGETATION IN A SEMIARID REGION OF ZIMBABWE

The feeding behaviour of indigenous goats grazing on natural vegetatio n in a semi-arid region of Zimbabwe was studied over live seasons cove ring a period of one year (March 1989 to March 1990). The goats were r andomly allocated to two groups, A and B, which grazed for 8 h (08.00- 16.00 h) and 5 h (11.00-16.00 h) daily, respectively. These grazing ti mes were based on the current practices of smallholder farmers. The bo tanical and chemical composition of the diet was determined by analysi ng samples collected from oesophageal fistulated goats. Daily feed int ake was estimated by the total faecal collection method. Feed selectio n varied markedly with season and was similar in both groups. From Jan uary to March (wet season) grass formed 55-70 % of the forage consumed , while from May to early November (dry period) browse, herbs and frui ts formed 77-91 % of the diet. Dietary crude protein levels ranged fro m 128 to 157 g/kg over the seasons. Neutral detergent fibre content ra nged from 590 to 790 g/kg, and was highest in wet months and lowest in dry months. Feed intake ranged from 33 to 60 g/kg BW0.75 or 16-28 g/k g of body weight. It appeared that a feeding duration of 5 h per day w as adequate for maintenance but insufficient for optimum production.