Grass for Goat

Goats are both browsers and grazers. That means they like to eat fresh green grasses, tender tips of
shrubs and trees. Grass for Goat Availability of a wide variety of grasses will help your goats well-fed
and healthy. Most of the time they eat almost everything which they find edible in front of them. They
will eat any type of grass which you will put in front of them.

Tree Leaves / Browse Plant

1.Trichantera Gigantea (Madre de Agua)

Trichantera gigantea is the scientific name of Madre de Agua. A small tree that is usually used as
fodder. Madre de Agua is one of the best protein sources in preparing feeds for chickens,turkeys,
pigs, goats, carabaos, sheep and cows etc.

2.Indigofera
is a forage tree/shrub with many shoots bearing pinnate bright green leaves. Some plant the legume
just to be part of a vast landscape, while others plant it for shade and windbreak.

As feed, farmers initially cited the unpalatability of the feed material due to toughness of the
leaves. Indigofera has 27?31% crude protein, which is relatively higher than any of the
locally availableleguminous forages. Leaves and twigs are harvested every 30 days to maintain their
succulence.
3.Mulberry
Although many people aren’t aware of it, goats actually prefer to consume “browse” (the leaves and
shoots on trees or shrubs) rather than grass. This diet preference makes
nonpoisonous tree greenery an ideal forage source for your goats, especially mulberry tree leaves,
which are high in crude protein, a food ingredient essential to your goat’s health. Whether you have
one beloved goat pet or a herd of 30 commercial meat goats, feeding mulberry tree leaves to your
goat is a simple, easy feeding option that you can use to reduce your annual feeding costs.

4.Flemingia
Flemingia macrophylla is a legume that is adapted to acid soils of low fertility, sandy or clayey, and is
drought-tolerant. Legumes, such as Flemingia, produce secondary metabolites such as tannins,
which can be hydrolyzed or condensed.
Condensed tannins are the most common secondary compound in legumes. They may negatively
influence feed intake by the animals by two factors: one is the astringency, which reduces the
acceptability of fodder by animals, reducing feed intake or the number of visits to the trough. The
other factor is the effect of tannin on the nutrient digestibility by forming complexes with proteins and
carbohydrates, reducing the ruminal degradation of these nutrients, or complexation with microbial
enzymes, decreasing its activity and consequently the digestibility of the feed. Additionally, tannins
can reduce enteric methane production, so they are important for mitigating greenhouse gas
emission by ruminants.
5.Rensonii Desmodium

Desmodium rensonii (now D. cinerea) has been tagged as the “alfalfa of the tropics” because of its
high protein content. It has been used for years at the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC),
Bansalan, Davao del Sur [Philippines] as fodder for goats, but there had been no literature on its
nutrient composition. Thus, the author determined the nutritive/feeding value of D. rensonii in the
project “The nutritive and feeding value of rensonii as livestock feed”, so as to maximize the species’
utilization in livestock production. Findings showed that based on proximate, detergent fiber, and
mineral content analyses, the nutrient composition of D. rensonii was comparable with that of alfalfa.
The in situ digestibility of DM and CP of D. rensonii at different incubation periods were tabulated.
Both DM and CP of rensonii had high disappearance within 24 hours of rumen incubation at 72-hour
incubation, DM disappearance was 89.13%, while CP was more likely to be completely digested with
97.10% disappearance. The CP content and digestibility of DM and CP of D. rensonii suggested that
it can be a good protein supplement for ruminants

6. Calliandra Calothersus
Normally cut for feeding as direct grazing by cattle, sheep and goats will normally result in high rates
of plant mortality.
Green Roughage
1.Napier Grass
Napier grass is a fodder grass that produces a lot of high-protein forage. It is also known as
“elephant grass”, “Sudan grass” or “king grass”.

Napier grass is best suited to high rainfall areas, but it is drought-tolerant and can also grow well in
drier areas. It does not grow well in waterlogged areas. It can be grown along with fodder trees along
field boundaries or along contour lines or terrace risers to help control erosion. It can be intercropped
with crops such as legumes and fodder trees, or as a pure stand.

The advantage of napier grass is that it propagates easily. It has a soft stem that is easy to cut. It
has deep roots, so is fairly drought-resistant. The tender, young leaves and stems are very palatable
for livestock and grows very fast

2.Centrosema Pubscens
common name centro or butterfly pea, is a legume in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae,
and tribe Phaseolae. It is native to Central and South America and cultivated in other tropical areas
as a forage for livestock. Centrosema pubescens is grown as a cover crop because it naturally
suppresses weeds and is very tolerant to drought. Centro is unable to tolerate cold temperatures,
but has very low soil and rainfall requirements. This plant is not suitable for human consumption but
provides benefits through soil fertility and animal health.
3.Pueraria Phaseoloides
Pueraria phaseoloides is a plant species within the pea family and its subfamily Faboideae. It is a
promising forage crop and cover crop used in the tropics. It is known as puero in Australia and
tropical kudzu in most tropical regions

4.Calopogonium Mucunoides

Calopogonium mucunoides can be grazed and made into hay or silage. Cattle, sheep and goat will
especially graze it during the latter part of the dry season. Its good persistence under grazing might
be a way to improve overall pasture quality through enhanced soil fertility, subsequent higher
pasture growth rate and weed control.
These are the Grass for Goat.