Seng Sokerya et al., 2001. Livest. Res. Rural Dev., 13 (2)

Eight female and four male growing goats were allocated to four sources of forage which were offered as supplements to fresh brewer’s grains. The forages were:

• Fresh foliage from cassava (Manihot esculenta)
• Fresh foliage from a legume shrub (Flemingia macrophylla) (substituted occasionally by Desmanthus virgatum)
• Fresh leaves from bananas
• Natural grasses

The animals were housed in individual wooden pens (70 x 70cm area) on a raised slatted floor. The experiment began on 5 May and continued until 2 October. All the foliages were fed at approximately 10% (fresh basis) of the liveweight of the goats, which was an offer level approximately 20% above observed intakes. The fresh brewer’s grains were received every two weeks from the brewery and were immediately ensiled in closed concrete containers. The ensiled grains were alsofed at about 20% above observed intakes. Faecal samples were taken at fortnightly intervals during the last two months of the trial for determinationof nematode eggs and coccidia oocysts.

Foliage from cassava supported the highest growth rate in the goats and the lowest faecal worm egg counts. Worm egg counts were highest in goats fed the natural grasses and the growth rates were some 30% slower compared with cassava. Very low growth rates were observed when Flemingia macrophylla and Desmanthus virgaturm foliages were fed.  Dry matter intakes of foliage were significantly less in the periods when Flemingia was fed compared with Desmanthus. 

It is concluded that cassava, managed as a perennial forage, has a high potential as a protein-rich feed for goats kept in a confinement system.