Aporte energético del pastoreo en un rebaño de cabras trasterminante entre monfragüe y la sierra de gredos

Abstract

The aim of this study is to estímate the energy contribution of grazing resources by transhumant domestic goats in open Mediterranean woodlands. The goats grazed in Monfragüe dehesa for nine months a year and in mountain pastures of Sierra de Gredos during summer. The goats were owned by herd keeper and henee, labour associated to herd management is considered as self-employed. Grazing resources, measured in metabolizable energy units, were determined by the difference between the theoretical energy requirements calculated by the specialized scientific literature and the supplementary feeds given to the animáis. In this study, the results show that the grazing resources are the main feeding source for goats covering up to 90 per cent of annual energy requirements. The reduced dependence of supplementary feeds is possible due to the significant role played by the transhumance activity which provides alternative sources of grazing in mountain pastures during the summer season.