Plants as Livestock Fodder

However, searching for wild foods for oneself and ones family always takes second place to finding food for those livestock on which survival of the family ultimately depends, and the greatest efforts are expended on procuring fodder for animals.

Cattle especially represent a high investment in labour for their owners. In bad years, herders are compelled to cover vast areas in search of foliage to carry home for their famished beasts as a substitute for the grazing which has withered and died. Sterculia is an important drought fodder: the herder climbs up into the crown of the tree and cuts off the long, curly leaves, and then, if the drought persists, proceeds to lop off the smaller branches. If still no rain fails, the larger branches are chopped off, and finally, as a last desperate resort, the entire tree is cut down, and laboriously cut into cross sections which are fed slice by slice to the emaciated cattle. Another good fodder for cattle is the foliage of Boswellia ameero: in the areas where it grows in profusion, its leaves are the main constituent of livestock drought fodder. The Dragon's Blood tree, Dracaena , retains its spiky leaves throughout the severest drought, and these are lopped off and then roughly chopped to fracture the tough outer casing and reveal the edible fibrous material within. This tree also produces a multitude of berries which are collected and carried home in sacks to feed to livestock. Climbing the rough trunk of a Dracaena is no simple matter, still less forcing ones way through the dense and unyielding umbrella-shaped crown to reach the berries which are borne in sprays held high above the crown. Other species provide valuable feed for cows, one in particular, Commiphora Soqotrana, is noteworthy since not only does it provide rich foliage, but in addition a liquid can be extracted from its bast or underbark which can be fed to young livestock from a skin 'feeding bottle' as a substitute for milk (when the mother has died or has no milk, or this is desperately needed by her owners). Parturient cows and cows in full lactation are whenever possible supplementarily fed by the experienced herder, who gathers the leaves of Ormocarpum, Arthrocarpum, Boswellia ameero and Acacia to give to his cows to fatten them and increase their milk yield. Calves and delicate young stock are brought the young, tender leaves of Sterculia or the trailing stems of Convoivulus and lpomea species: all of these are considered to be especially nutritious and easily digested.

Goats are (notoriously) less particular about what they eat, but they too have fodder gathered for them, especially those that are pregnant or in milk. At certain times of the day, the hills and valleys ring with the cries of herders calling to their goats to come and feed on the foliage they have knocked down for them. They tap the trees with their crooks and the goats come bleating from all directions at the welcome sound. In the dry season, goats are fed on the foliage of Acacia, Carphalea, various Commiphoras Grewia and Vernonia among others. In periods of drought, goats too are fed on Dracaena leaves: whole trees are cut down so that the goats can more easily get at the leaflets, which however, when eaten in any quantity cause the goats to scour. Their owners also climb Euphorbia arbuscula to chop down the tufts of pointed leaves. This is a most disagreeable task, since the latex which flows copiously whenever the bark is cut splashes everywhere, and if a drop lands in an eye, it causes intense pain and inflammation. It is difficult to credit that goats will eat these tough and bitter leaves, but in bad times they form the major part of their diet. Another plant, Dorstenia gig s, a plant with a strange bulbous shape which grows in the less accessible parts of the island, on cliffs and the sheer sides of gullies and ravines, is rooted up in its entirety and chopped into pieces as feed. The bizarre cucumber tree, Dendrosicvos, suffers the same fate at times of severe drought: the whole tree is cut down, chopped up and fed, piece by piece to the weak goats. The goats do not themselves touch these plants unless very hungry indeed, nor do their owners encourage them to do so unless thereisnoalternative,sincethefleshoftheanimal,andinsomecasesthemilktoo, becomes tainted. Wherethesoilisdeeper,theverylarge rootofEuriandraisdugup-arduouswork since it grows to a great depth - and given to goats who love the crushed flesh which is both filling and nourishing. Cordia leaves are fed to goats, and when times are hard the bark too. Even the dead foliage and fruit of Ficus salicifolia is collected for them - toxic when green, these are quite safe once dead. Young kids or sickly goats are tempted with the young, tender leaves of Ormocarpum, Boswellia Soqotrana or Acacia. Sheep in dry periods are given date pips or fed dates which are unfit for human consumption. Otherwise, there is little that can be found to help these grazers survive: they forage where they can for dead leaves or the dessicated remnants of grasses and herbs, and when these are exhausted they starve: the death rate among sheep in bad years is high.

Camels are in the main left to fend for themselves, at all times of the year and in all weathers especially nowadays when their value has markedly decreased from the days when large herds were owned by the members of the former Sultan's family and by merchants in the coastal villages. Then camels were greatly valued as baggage animals - indeed were indeed very profitable for their owners - and consequently were tended with great assiduity. However, even in those days they were, as they continue to be, peripheral to the island's milk and ghee economy, and the same efforts are rarely expended on their behalf. Instead, pastoralists concentrate on lactating females - cows, goats and sheep - which are kept close to the home settlements until their milk dries up. Whereas sheep are at all times housed near the settlement and closely herded beyond it, goats other than those which are pregnant or in milk are tunred loose and left to roam freely wherever they will. Indeed, some in time become feral and no longer acknowledge their owners, and instead spend their days amongst the highest and emptiest peaks of the island where they provide a free source of meat to the skilled hunter.

Not all vegetation is suitable for livestock, and the pastoralists have a detailed knowledge of which plants are toxic or inappropriate for their animals. For instance, if they feed too much Cordia bark to their goats, they will suffer severe internal blockage, which can be fatal; if cattle eat too many Dracaena fruit fruit, they become weak and tottery; if pregnant goats are allowed in their hunger to nibble at the young shoots of the Aloe, or feed on a certain species of geranium; they are likely to abort; when camels browse on Acridocarpus they get the staggers, become incapable of load - bearing and usually have to be slaughtered; should goats eat the foliage of Maerua they get shivering attacks and become sickly; if cattle or goats feed on large quantities of Hibiscus foliage, they fall ill; and should goats gorge on the leaves of Zizvphus, they get severe diarrhoea. Thus the herder must be constantly aware of where his animals are and what they are eating if he wishes to avoid unwelcome consequences.