Leucaena leucocephala and Sesbania sesban in dry form were fed as supplements to goats feeding on a low quality basal diet of barley straw. Each browse supplement was fed at four levels: 0 %, 0.83 % liveweight (LW), 1.66 % LW and at ad libitum. The intakes of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM), DM and OM digestibility, nitrogen (N) digestibility and balance, and liveweight gain were evaluated during a 5 week trial. For goats offered both leucaena and sesbania there was no significant (p<0.05) difference in DM or OM intakes between 0.83 % LW and 1.66 % LW levels of browse supplementation. When both lecaena and sesbania were offered ad libitum the DM and OM intakes were significantly (p<0.05) lower than for either 0.83 % LW or 1.66 % LW level of supplementation. Feeding both leucaena and sesbania increased the DM and OM digestibility coefficients significantly over thos of the controls. The growth rates for goats supplemented with leucaena at various levels were not significantly different from each other. For the goats offered sesbania at ad libitum, their growth rates were significantly lower than for those fed sesbania at either 0.83 % LW or 1.66 % LW. The apparent digestibility of nitrogen (ADN) was not significantly different among leucaena supplemented treatments. For goats offered sesbania, the ADN was significantly higher than for the controls. The ability of browse supplements to increase intakes and digestibility of both dry matter and organic matter is discussed.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.