Effect of Ground and Pelleted Sericea Lespedeza Whole Plant and Leaf Only on Gastrointestinal Nematode and Coccidial Infection in Goats

Two 42-day feeding trials in pens were completed with young goats (Spanish, intact male, six months old, n = 29 Trial 1; n = 20 Trial 2) to determine the anti-parasitic bioactivity of whole plant and leaf only sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) fed as a ground meal or in pelleted form. In Trial 1, goats were fed SL leaf only pellets, SL whole plant pellets, or a commercial goat pellet as 50% of a complete ration, while in Trial 2, kids were fed either ground SL leaf meal or ground whole plant SL meal as 25% of a complete ration. Fecal samples were collected weekly for determination of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) fecal egg counts (FEC) and coccidia fecal oocyst counts (FOC). In Trial 1, both of the pelleted SL rations reduced FEC (p < 0.06) relative to the kids fed the control ration, and for FOC, there were lower values on Days 7 to 42 relative to Day 0 for goats on either pelleted SL diet, while FOC for control animals did not change over time (interaction, p < 0.01). In Trial 2, both ground whole plant and leaf only SL diets reduced (p < 0.05) FEC of the goats over time, but the effect was faster in the kids on the SL leaf meal ration. At 50% of the diet, SL leaf and whole plant meal pellets were equally effective against GIN egg and coccidial oocyst production in young kids, but SL leaf meal was more effective in reducing GIN egg production than whole plant SL meal when fed at 25% of the diet.