Goat Species: Nutrition Grazing, and Forages.

The article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal feeding that were presented during the symposium held on July 27, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers discussed is "Grazing Behavior and Energy Expenditure by Sheep and Goats Co-Grazing Grass/Forb Pastures at Three Stocking Rates," by G. Animut, A.L. Goetsch, G.E. Aiken, R. Puchala and others. This paper examined the effects of stocking rate on grazing behavior and energy expenditure by growing sheep and goat wethers co-grazing grass/forb pastures. Grazing was for 16-wk periods in 2002 and 2003. Pastures consisted of various grasses, primarily bermudagrass and johnsongrass, and forbs such as ragweed. Another paper discussed is "Goat Preference of Five Tropical Legumes," by S. Pietrosemoli, F. Arenas, D. Bermudez, O. Peley, and A. Casanova. Forage palatability is an important factor in goat production, particularly when forages are expected to provide a major part of the daily nutrient intake. Preference by goats for Indigofera hirsuta, Cannavalia spp., Tephrosia cinerea, Teramnus spp. and Clitoria ternatea harvested at two stages of maturity, 42 and 74 d, was evaluated using four lactating French Alpine X Nubian goats.