A note on the effect of supplementing rangeland grazing with Acacia angustissima mixed with pearl millet on growth performance of goats in a smallholder farming area in Zimbabwe

摘要

Numerousresearcheffortshavebeendirectedatfindingwaystoimprovefeedsupplytogoatsandthesehaveentailedtheuseoftreelegumesassupplementaryfeeds.Howevermostoftheresearchhasbeendoneonstationsmanagedbyresearchersandthetechnologiesdevelopedhavenotbeenadaptedtosuitfarmersinthesemi-aridareas.TheobjectiveofthisstudywastotesttheeffectofsupplementaryfeedingAcaciaangustissimamixedwithpearlmilletongoatgrowthperformanceon-farmduringthedryseasoninBubismallholderfarmingarea,MatabelelandNorthProvince,Zimbabwe.Twentygoatsweresupplementedwith200gofa37.5%Acaciaangustissimamixedwith62.5%pearlmilletdietinthemorningandlaterreleasedontotherangeland.Agroupoftwentygoatsthatsolelysubsistedontherangelandwasalsoobservedasthecontrol.Thegoatswereweighedevery14daysfor16weekstoevaluatetheirresponsetotreatmentsanddiscussionswereheldwithfarmerstogettheircommentsandsuggestionsaswellastheirobservationsfromtheexperiment.nbsp;TheaveragedailyweightgainofgoatssupplementedwithAcaciaangustissimawas36g/dandsignificantlyhigher(P0.05)thanthatofthecontrolgoatswhichwas7g/d.Treatmentandtimehadaninteraction(P0.05)ontheaveragedailyweightgain.nbsp;Supplementaryfeedingimprovedthegrowthperformanceofgoatsgrazingontherangelandduringthedryseason.