Dietary differences between goats and sheep

Abstract

Goats in pens eat about 20% more of a low quality feed than do sheep. This higher intake is just sufficient to match the higher maintenance energy requirement of the goats, so, in reality, they are not more suited to an existence on low quality feeds There is little difference between goats and sheep in the extent to which they digest and utilise feeds. It is clear that goats will eat more browse such as gorse, but under intensive pasture grazing, the dry matter intake of goats falls more rapidly than that of sheep as the herbage mass declines. Goats seem to be unwilling to graze less preferred components of the ward. These results suggest sheep rather than goats have to be used to graze to low herbage masses unless low intakes and performance of goats can be accepted.