Abstract Milder climatic conditions in silvopasture may impact understory vegetation and grazing animals differently than open pasture. However, not much is known about the potential differences in forages and grazing animals because of pasture system. We hypothesized that forage quality and health parameters of goats grazing in silvopasture would be better compared to those in open pasture during summer. The objective of the study was to evaluate forage productivity and quality, and hematological parameters of Kiko does reared in silvopasture and open pasture. Twenty Kiko does (45.9 ±SE 1.31 kg) were split into silvopasture and open pasture groups and rotated among plots in each system from June to September 2025 for 70 days. The silvopasture study site consisted of three plots (0.4-ha each) longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) while the open pasture consisted of six plots (0.2-ha each). The dominant forages in both research sites were bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Fluegge) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. Holub). Both groups had free access to mobile shelters, clean drinking water, and minerals (Purina goat mineral) throughout the study. Ten random forage samples per plot were collected from both research sites using a 0.25-m² quadrat one day before introducing animals to the plot and one day prior to each rotation. The samples were dried at 60 °C for 72 hours and weighed to determine the forage productivity. Dried samples were ground and analyzed for crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Total digestible nutrient (TDN) was calculated using NDF values. Blood samples were collected on the first day, every two weeks, and the last day of the study by jugular venipuncture and analyzed for 14 hematological parameters using a ProCyte Dx analyzer. All data sets were analyzed in SAS 9.4; forage productivity data by using the Mixed Procedure and forage quality and blood parameter data sets using the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) with multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) option. Silvopasture had lower (50.87%, p 0.0001) forage productivity and higher crude protein (15%, p 0.0001). Does reared in silvopasture had lower neutrophil (15.94%, p 0.01), monocyte (20%, p 0.05), and eosinophil (31.25%, p 0.001) vs. the open-pasture group. Results indicated that silvopasture system can enhance the forage quality and improve health parameters of grazing goats during summer.
Acharya et al. (Wed,) studied this question.