This research examined the diets of angora goats on a sagebrush
bunchgrass rangeland. Research objectives were to 1) determine the effects of
a positive conditioning method on both mature and immature angora goats; and
2) to quantify plant selection and provide preliminary information as to the
potential for using goats to rehabilitate degraded sagebrush rangelands. Goat
diets were ascertained using focal - animal bite-count observations during five
consecutive seasons, summer 1990 through summer 1991.
Treatment group goats were conditioned for 8 months by including ever- increasing
amounts of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate subspp. wyomingensi) in
their daily ration, up to 25% of their total intake. Conditioning effects were
evaluated in a rangeland setting by comparing relative amounts of sagebrush
consumption between groups. Our results indicate that while conditioning did
not significantly impact sagebrush consumption, young animals consumed
significantly more sagebrush than adults. Additionally, learning throughout the
first year altered dietary selection by the second summer.
Both does and kids were primarily gramnivorous, however there was
strong seasonality in species preference and a significant age difference in diets
selected. Age differences in the plant species selected persisted throughout the
study until the summer of 1991 when kids were eighteen months old. / Graduation date: 1993
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36878 |
| Date | 12 February 1993 |
| Creators | Richman, Lesley M. |
| Contributors | Johnson, Douglas E. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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