Open AccessBody weight gain and voluntary feed intake in meat goat does fed endophyte-infected and endophyte-free tall fescue seed
Author(s) -
Richard Browning,
J.R. Author,
B. J. Donnelly,
Tracey L. Payton,
P.R. Pandya,
M. Byars
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
grassland research and practice series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2463-4751
pISSN - 0110-8581
DOI - 10.33584/rps.13.2006.3115
Subject(s) - endophyte , neotyphodium , pasture , festuca arundinacea , biology , forage , agronomy , grazing , poaceae , zoology , botany , lolium perenne
Tall fescue is the primary pasture forage offered to goats in the southeastern United States. Data on how tall fescue endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) affects meat goat performance are lacking. In three summers, yearling does were fed diets containing tall fescue seed to assess the effect of endophyte infection on goat growth and feed intake. In 2004 and 2005, does were fed endophyte-infected (EI) or endophyte-free (EF) tall fescue seeds added to the diets for 10 wk. Feed refusals were weighed daily. The EI diet reduced (P