# Preference of Ligneous Forages by Sheep in South-East Mali

## TL;DR

The study found that sheep in south-east Mali prefer fresh leaves of Pterocarpus lucens and dry leaves of Ficus sycomorus as feed supplements.

## Contribution

Identified the most preferred ligneous forage species for stall-fed sheep in south-east Mali.

## Key findings

- Pterocarpus lucens fresh leaves were most consumed by sheep.
- Ficus sycomorus dry leaves were also highly preferred.
- Khaya senegalensis and Pterocarpus erinaceus leaves were least consumed.

## Abstract

We tested the preference of the leaves of five woody fodder plants (Entada africana, Ficus sycomorus, Khaya senegalensis, Pterocarpus erinaceus, and Pterocarpus lucens) frequently used to feed sheep in south-eastern Mali. The results indicate that the fresh leaves of Pterocarpus lucens, followed by those of Entada africana, and the dry leaves of Ficus sycomorus were the most appreciated and can therefore be used as a feed supplement for stall-fed sheep.

In many tropical countries, woody forage plays an important role in ruminant nutrition. Five woody species commonly used in south-eastern Mali were subjected to a preference test, in order to examine their potential of being included in the rations of stall-fed sheep. A complete randomised block (Latin square) experiment with four rams was carried out during two test periods of five days each to test the appreciation of fresh and dried leaves, respectively, of the five species. On each test day, the five species were offered concomitantly to the rams for 30 min in the morning, and the parameters of their consumption along with the nutritional value were determined. The average consumption of fresh leaves was 160.9 g, 115.8 g, 66.2 g, 11.6 g, and 5.7 g per kilogram of live weight, respectively, for Pterocarpus lucens, Entada africana, Ficus sycomorus, Pterocarpus erinaceus, and Khaya senegalensis. For dry leaves, the consumption per kilogram of live weight averaged 69.3 g, 39.3 g, 25.0 g, 8.4 g, and 3.7 g for P. lucens, F. sycomorus, P. erinaceus, K. senegalensis, and E. africana, respectively. These results indicate that P. lucens, followed by E. africana when fresh, and by F. sycomorus when dry were the most liked species and therefore show potential to be used as a feed supplement in the rations of stall-fed sheep.