Supplementation of goats with mesquite pod meal in deferred (Urochloa mosambicenses) grass pasture in the semiarid region

Abstract Supplementation emerges as a simple strategy to improve animal productivity in systems that adopt deferred grass pasture as the basic diet. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of levels of supplementation of mesquite pod meal on intake, digestibility of nutrients, and body weight (BW) gain of goats in grazing deferred. Thirty-five (35) goat males (24.0 ± 2.9 kg BW) were distributed in a completely randomized design, with five treatments and seven replications. Treatments constituted a supplement control (0.05% BW of protein-mineral salt) and increasing levels at 0.5; 1.0; 1.5, and 2.0% BW of supplementation with mesquite pod meal. Dry matter intake and nutrients of the forage and total diet increased linearly (P