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Simple Summary: Under field conditions, interactions occur between animals, parasites and the environment. Usually, only 30% of goats (over a dispersed distribution) display high gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burdens. Hence, focusing on individual infection would allow better management of the impact of GINs. As acclaimed evolutionary biologist and natural historian S.J. Gould (1941–2002) once emphasized: "The Median Isn't the Message". The relationship between individual and herd GIN infection levels, nutritional and productive performance and anemia parameters in a tropical farm context were evaluated. Fifty-four female goats browsing the tropical forest (supplemented with balanced feed and chopped grass) were used. Measurements were obtained every 15 days (six samplings during the study); likewise, in each sampling time, the fecal samples were obtained in the morning [AM] and afternoon [PM] to assess the GIN burdens (eggs per gram of feces). The individual AM and PM values were similar and highly correlated at each sampling time. The nutritional and productive status fluctuated over time, although the median GIN burden of the flock was relatively constant. Nevertheless, the individual GIN burden differed when assessed at 30 d intervals; thus, these sampling points can be considered independent. Higher GIN burdens were associated with low body condition and low hematocrit. Moreover, the marked fluctuation of live weight should warn that nutrition is highly dynamic and could have a more important effect than GIN burden on the performance of goats under farm conditions in the tropics. We evaluated the relationship between individual and herd GIN infection level, nutrition, production performance and anemia parameters in a tropical farm context. Fifty-four female goats were monitored to assess their body condition score (BCS, nutritional status indicator), live weight (LW) and LW gain (LWG, both used as production level indicators), FAMACHA© and hematocrit (HT, both used as anemia indicators). Goats browsed for 4 h in a tropical forest and received balanced feed and chopped grass. The eggs per gram of feces (EPG) indicated the GIN burden, with fecal samples obtained at 7:00 (AM) and 15:00 h (PM.) from each goat at six sampling points during the study. The variables and their relationship with GIN burdens were analyzed using Kruskall–Wallis, ANOVA and Friedman tests and Spearman correlations. The fecal samples obtained in the AM and PM can be equally representative of parasitic burdens (similar and highly correlated). However, the EPG of individual goats from periods of 30 days apart can be considered independent. The BCS and LWG varied between sampling times (p < 0.05), whereas EPG, LW and HT did not (p > 0.05). The GIN burden was negatively correlated with HT and BCS (−0.21, p = 0.01 for each one). The individual pattern of infection demonstrates the true impact of GINs on their hosts. Additionally, feeding and nutritional status may present important variations influencing the performance of the goats more than the impact of GINs under the farm conditions of the present study. However, GIN infection contributed to the variation in goat health and productivity in this tropical farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Goat smallholdings are common in both rural and urban areas of Malawi, and are kept as a food source and as investments to improve livelihoods. However, goats are known to forage on indigestible items that can negatively impact health and lead to a loss of productive performance. To date, no studies have estimated the prevalence of pollution among Malawi goats despite issues with waste management. To this end, we sought to survey the frequency of plastic and other indigestible foreign bodies among goats slaughtered by informal market butcher stands in five districts spanning Malawi. Most of the butchers surveyed identified plastic during slaughter (80%) while almost half (45.3%) identified other indigestible objects (hardware). Plastic was found by butchers in all districts and across rural and urban settings. While being less common than plastic, the hardware noted by butchers included sharps such as needles and bicycle spokes. When purchasing, butchers do consider animal health important, but 70.7% consider injury status as less or not important. Overall, this study highlights the issues of pollution among smallholder goats and demonstrates the need for further study to address the impacts of pollution on animal health and knock-on impacts on smallholder livelihoods. Smallholder goat production plays a major role in rural livelihoods and food security in Malawi, but suffers from drastic and unpredictable production losses. While goat production is closely linked to small-scale local markets for slaughter and butchering, the perspectives of butchers and their potential as a source of animal health information are largely untapped. Butchers can provide insights into goat health status at slaughter as well as issues that go unseen before slaughter, such as the presence of indigestible foreign bodies (IFBs). IFBs include solid materials such as plastics and hardware (metals, stones, and other hard objects) that cause foreign body syndrome and can lead to impaction, oedema, malnutrition, and death. To estimate the presence of IFBs, 150 market stand butchers were surveyed across five districts in Malawi, focusing on a distinction between hardware and single-use plastics, which are still widely present in Malawi despite bans on production. Most butchers found plastic IFBs (80.7%), with over half (56.7%) reporting plastic IFBs recently among the past five slaughters. Hardware IFBs were less common, reported by 45.3% of butchers. While some butchers commented on the impact of IFBs on meat quality metrics ex-post, the majority observed no differences. While butchers unanimously considered health to be an important characteristic when sourcing goats, 70.7% consider injury status to be less important or not important. Overall, this study highlights the issue of anthropogenic waste pollution on goat production in Malawi and demonstrates the potential for the surveillance of goat health at market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the effects of macro- and microclimatic conditions, month of harvest, and leaf age at harvest on the bromatological composition and polyphenol content of Gymnopodium floribundum leaves were evaluated. Leaves were harvested in December 2017 and 2018 and March, June, and September 2018. At each harvest, three composite samples of mixed-age leaves were collected from 12 trees (four trees for each sample), and the sampling was repeated on day 90 post-harvest to collect 90-day-old leaves. Fresh and dry matter, crude protein, acid and neutral detergent fibers (ADF and NDF, respectively), lignin, total tannins, condensed tannins (CT), total phenols, in vitro dry matter (IVDMD) and organic matter (IVOMD) digestibility, and metabolizable energy (ME) were estimated. Rainfall, relative humidity, and microhumidity were associated with chemical composition. IVDMD, IVOMD, and ME were highest in leaves sampled in March regardless of age (p < 0.001). Water content, ADF, NDF, and lignin were highest in the leaves sampled in September, regardless of age (p < 0.05), suggesting that leaves require more structural support in the rainy season. CT content was highest in September in the mixed-age leaves and in September and December in the 90-day-old leaves (p < 0.05). A high fiber and CT content during the period of rapid leaf growth could deter herbivory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We evaluated the relationship between individual and herd GIN infection level, nutrition, production performance and anemia parameters in a tropical farm context. Fifty-four female goats were monitored to assess their body condition score (BCS, nutritional status indicator), live weight (LW) and LW gain (LWG, both used as production level indicators), FAMACHA© and hematocrit (HT, both used as anemia indicators). Goats browsed for 4 h in a tropical forest and received balanced feed and chopped grass. The eggs per gram of feces (EPG) indicated the GIN burden, with fecal samples obtained at 7:00 (AM) and 15:00 h (PM.) from each goat at six sampling points during the study. The variables and their relationship with GIN burdens were analyzed using Kruskall-Wallis, ANOVA and Friedman tests and Spearman correlations. The fecal samples obtained in the AM and PM can be equally representative of parasitic burdens (similar and highly correlated). However, the EPG of individual goats from periods of 30 days apart can be considered independent. The BCS and LWG varied between sampling times ( p < 0.05), whereas EPG, LW and HT did not ( p > 0.05). The GIN burden was negatively correlated with HT and BCS (-0.21, p = 0.01 for each one). The individual pattern of infection demonstrates the true impact of GINs on their hosts. Additionally, feeding and nutritional status may present important variations influencing the performance of the goats more than the impact of GINs under the farm conditions of the present study. However, GIN infection contributed to the variation in goat health and productivity in this tropical farm.

Smallholder goat production plays a major role in rural livelihoods and food security in Malawi, but suffers from drastic and unpredictable production losses. While goat production is closely linked to small-scale local markets for slaughter and butchering, the perspectives of butchers and their potential as a source of animal health information are largely untapped. Butchers can provide insights into goat health status at slaughter as well as issues that go unseen before slaughter, such as the presence of indigestible foreign bodies (IFBs). IFBs include solid materials such as plastics and hardware (metals, stones, and other hard objects) that cause foreign body syndrome and can lead to impaction, oedema, malnutrition, and death. To estimate the presence of IFBs, 150 market stand butchers were surveyed across five districts in Malawi, focusing on a distinction between hardware and single-use plastics, which are still widely present in Malawi despite bans on production. Most butchers found plastic IFBs (80.7%), with over half (56.7%) reporting plastic IFBs recently among the past five slaughters. Hardware IFBs were less common, reported by 45.3% of butchers. While some butchers commented on the impact of IFBs on meat quality metrics ex-post, the majority observed no differences. While butchers unanimously considered health to be an important characteristic when sourcing goats, 70.7% consider injury status to be less important or not important. Overall, this study highlights the issue of anthropogenic waste pollution on goat production in Malawi and demonstrates the potential for the surveillance of goat health at market.