SUMMARY

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of supplementing a Panicum hay basal diet with leaves of Madras thorn (Pithecellobium dulce), Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) or Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) on the quality and quantity of goat manure. Twelve Small East African goats aged eight months on average and weighing 9.7kg (±1.52) were randomly assigned to four treatments. Panicum hay fed ad libitum plus 100g of maize bran constituted the control diet. The remaining three treatments consisted of the control diet supplemented with iso-nitrogenous levels of Leucaena, Gliricidia or Madras thorn, respectively. Crude protein concentrations in the forages were 3.5, 21, 23 and 25 % for Panicum hay, Gliricidia, Madras thorn and Leucaena, respectively. The supplement