Small Ruminants > Nutrition

Nutrition

The Small Ruminant Nutrition Laboratory conducts research that promotes low-cost, forage-based meat goat production. Scientists have explored such topics as: the energy costs of intestinal parasite infection; the use of plant-based compounds in the control of intestinal parasites; and the use of non-conventional forages, such as stinging nettle, for small ruminant feed, evaluating their nutrition levels along with their effects on performance and carcass quality.

Scientists have also studied the use of alkali treatment to improve the nutritional value of various crop residues, making these potentially useful as feed for small ruminants. Future research will focus on the carbon footprint of several goat breeds under different environmental and nutritional management conditions. The lab is equipped with an animal nutrition field laboratory, an indoor feeding facility, grazing pastures, and indirect respiration calorimetry.