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Two feeding trials of 112 and 84 days duration were conducted with indigenous goat kids with average liveweight of 11.5 +/- 0.3 kg to evaluate the potential of dolichos lablab and Acacia tortilis pods in mitigating liveweight losses and improving survival, In Trial 1, the kids were offered 200-300 g day(-1) of dolichos lablab or luceme hay, while in Trial 2 they were offered 300-400 g day(-1) of Acacia tortilis pods or dolichos lablab hay, Weight gains, though low (31 g day(-1) for luceme and 23 g day(-1) for dolichos lablab), were positive and there was no mortality. In Trial 2, A. tortilis pods resulted in growth rates of up to 67 g day(-1). It is concluded that A. tortilis pods are a suitable supplement in a feeding system where kids are penned for most of the day and only released in the afternoon to graze near the home.