Diet composition of goats in forest pasture of northern Morocco.

In forest pasture, diet selection of goats is affected by the interaction of several factors such as goat characteristics, climate and existing pastoral species. Understanding the diet composition of grazing goat will help to improve their productivity. The aim of this study was thus to determine the forage selection and the diet composition of goats grazing in a silvopastoral area in northern Morocco. Direct observation was used as a technique to evaluate grazing behavior of goats, during three consecutive days for three seasons (autumn, spring and summer). The goats spent more grazing time in autumn and summer. During this period, they performed the highest number of total bites. Intake rate and bite weight of palatable species depended significantly to the pastoral species and the season. The shrub was the most important part of the diet of goats. Goat remains an adapted animal to the seasonality of forest vegetation in northern Morocco.