Effect of Ensiling on Efficacy of Sericea Lespedeza against Gastrointestinal Nematodes and Coccidia in Goats

Effect of ensiled sericea lespedeza (SL, Lespedeza cuneata) on indicators of gastrointestinal parasitism was investigated in two trials using intact male Spanish goats (n = 36/trial). Naturally parasite-infected animals at 24.4 ± 3.7 kg body weight (BW) and nine months of age or 24.6 ± 0.57 kg BW at 4-6 months of age were used for 28 d or 21 d for Trials 1 and 2, respectively. For Trial 1, goats were fed SL silage (SLS), SL hay (SLH), or Bermuda grass (BG, Cynodon dactylon) hay at 70% of the diet. For Trial 2, goats were provided with SLH or SLS and orally drenched with distilled water (Hay or silage plus water, HW and SW, respectively) or polyethylene glycol (PEG; SLS only; SP) daily. Fecal and blood samples were collected weekly to determine gastrointestinal nematode fecal egg counts (FEC) and coccidia fecal oocyst counts (FOC) per gram of feces and blood packed cell volume (PCV). The SL diets significantly reduced (p < 0.05) FEC and FOC in both trials, with the SLH diet reducing FEC 7 d faster compared to SLS. In PEG-treated goats, FOC tended to increase (p < 0.07) at day 7 before decreasing. There was no treatment effect on PCV scores. Overall, SLH and SLS reduced fecal egg and oocyst counts in goats, but PEG results were inconclusive, so more research is needed.