Forage species availability, food preference and grazing behaviour of goats in southeastern Nigeria

Abstract The grazing behaviour of three goat ecotypes, Red Sokoto (RS), West African dwarf (WAD) and their crossbreeds (CB), reared in the same environment were monitored for a period of 18 weeks at Abakaliki, Nigeria. A general inventory of forage species available and the key forage species preferred by the goats were also determined. Twenty-six forage species including 13 grasses, five legumes, two trees and six shrubs were identified. Grasses, legumes and trees were the most preferred species, and these formed the bulk of their diet. The most preferred species were not necessarily the most abundant on the ground, indicating that ease of accessibility and palatability may be important determinants for choice of a forage species. The least preferred forage was Leucana leucocephala. Behaviours such as ingestion, walking, resting, rumination, playing, bullying and courtship behaviours were all observed during the grazing period. Time spent on these behaviours varied slightly between the three different breeds with the RS playing for a longer period (P