Effects of Prosopis juliflora pod and leaf meal on physical characteristics of teeth and bones of goats in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Livestock farmers in Baringo and Kitui counties in Kenya have complained that their goats lose their teeth with time when feeding on Prosopis juliflora pods and leaves. On this basis two studies were done: (i) to establish the extent of this complaint by a survey in Kwa Vonza ward in Kitui county; and (ii) determine the effects of the Prosopis browse on the physical characteristics of the teeth and bones in an experiment, set up in South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU). The laboratory study revealed that Prosopis browse caused the teeth and bones taken from slaughtered goats to crack or break into small pieces when soaked in aqueous suspensions of the meal from Prosopis pods and leaves and that the effects were worse for the pods than the leaves. The farmer survey revealed that 79% of the respondents indicated that Prosopis plant had negative effects in mature goats, especially loss of teeth and resultant loss of body condition, which impacted negatively on the returns to the farmers. The respondents noted that Prosopis juliflora was a real threat to livestock production in the pasturelands and that alternative uses should be explored like generation of biofuels.