Nutrient intake and utilisation by goats fed dried leaves of the shrub legumes Acacia angustissima, Calliandra calothyrsus and Leucaena leucocephala as supplements to native pasture hay

Thirty-six indigenous goats were used to determine the potential of sun-dried leaves of the shrub legumes Acacia angustissima, Calliandra calothyrsus and Leucaena leucocephala as supplements to native pasture hay (NPH). The dried leaves were included at the rates of 80, 160 and 320 g/head/day. Cottonseed meal fed at the same levels, and NPH fed alone were included as controls. Among the browses, C. calothyrsus had the lowest N content of 19.0 g/kg dry matter (DM) and A. angustissima the highest of 35.0 g/kg DM. The leaves from the legumes had significantly less N and higher cell wall, neutral detergent insoluble N (NDIN) and acid detergent insoluble N (ADIN) contents than cottonseed meal. The values of NDIN as a fraction of total N were 19, 456, 526 and 816 g/kg for cottonseed meal, L. leucocephala, A. angustissima and C. calothyrsus, respectively.Proanthocyanidin contents were 33, 196 and 134 g/kg DM for A. angustissima, C. calothyrsus and L. leucocephala, respectively. Type of supplement did not affect (P>0.05) NPH, total and digestible DM intakes although NPH intake was depressed (P

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-8401(01)00233-4

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