Use of browses (Terminalia serecia, Combretum apiculatum or Euclea schimperi) as a supplement for growing Tswana goats.

Twenty yearling male castrated Tswana goats were weighed and randomly divided into four groups of 5 animals. All the animals were fed buffel grass hay (Cenchrus ciliaris) as a basal diet, while lucerne (Medicago sativa) was fed to the control group as supplement. The other three groups were fed either Combretum apiculatum, Terminalia serecia or Euclea schimperi as a supplement. The basal diet comprised 60% of the ration, while the lucerne or the browses made up the remaining 40%. Water was provided daily. Leftover water and feed were measured daily. The goats were weigted every 2 weeks, prior to the morning feed. The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance. The average daily dry matter intake of the lucerne, C. apiculatum, T. serecia and E. schimperi supplements was 702.17, 769.91, 776.68 and 752.50 g, respectively, and was not significantly different between treatments (p > 0.05). The average daily water intake was significantly different (p < 0.05), with the goats fed lucerne drinking significantly more water (1270 +/- 31.62 ml) than the goats on T. serecia (1150 +/- 103.2 ml) but not significantly more than those on C. apiculatum (1166 +/- 52.25 ml) or E. schimperi (1184 +/- 100.15 ml). The average daily body weight gain was higher for the goats on lucerne at 78 g, compared to 77 g, 67 g and 64 g, for the C. apiculatum, E. schimperi and T. serecia supplements, respectively, but these were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Differences in feed conversion ratio were not significant (p > 0.05), but the ratio was lower for the goats on lucerne at 9.00 compared to 10.41, 11.98, and 11.23 for C. apiculatum, T. serecia and E. schimperi, respectively. The study demonstrated that these browses can be used to replace lucerne as a supplement for Tswana goats fed on buffel grass hay as the basal diet.