Intake and digestibility of Moringa oleifera-batiki grass mixtures by growing goats

Goats, 16 Anglo-Nubian x Local Fiji; 7-9 months of age; 9.45 +/- 0.09 kg, BW were used to investigate the nutritive value and digestibility of Moringa oleifera-batiki grass (Ischaemum aristatum var. indicum) mixtures. Four treatments (diets) were compared: batiki grass alone (M0) was used as the control, and three levels of Moringa oleifera leaves at 20% (M20), 50% (M50) and 80% (M80) of the total daily forage allowance. The DMI of the goats on M0, M20, M50 and M80 diets were 50.6, 50.9, 51.0 and 46.8 g/(kg LW0.75), respectively. The DMI was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the goats on M80 diets. The goats on M20 and M50 diets had higher live-weight gains, and higher digestibility of DM, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), OM and energy than the goats on M0 and M80. It is concluded that Moringa oleifera at 20 and 50% levels of total daily forage allowance could be used as a cheap protein supplement in batiki grass based diets for goats. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.