Each type of livestock has its own unique food habits, and thus for pastoralists raising several sorts of animals has great merit. For instance, different animals eat very different kinds of plants. The table (below) shows the ratio of plants eaten by each type of animal. A distinction is made between herbaceous plants and trees (including tree leaves and small branches). We can see that animals eat a wide variety of plants in a different manner. Camels eat from trees in both the rainy and dry seasons. On the other hand, sheep rely on herbaceous plants even in the dry season, when these plants die out. Goats and donkeys eat herbaceous plants in the rainy season, when they are fresh, and trees in the dry season, when the herbaceous plants die out.

Food habits of different livestock (%)

		Rainy Season			Dry Season
		Herbaceous plants	Trees and shrubs		Herbaceous plants	Trees and shrubs
	Camel	16	84		0	100
	Sheep	98	2		81	19
	Goat	93	7		8	92
	Donkey	94	6		10	90
	Cattle	71	19		43	57