We determined the seasonal nutrient and secondary compound intake, in vivo diet digestibility (DD) and diet species composition of goats in different physiological states in a desert rangeland of Argentina. During the wet and the dry seasons, 24 mature female Creole goats (six non-lactating, non-pregnant and six lactating in each season) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Diet botanical composition, DD and dry-matter intake (DMI) were estimated by the combined use of visual observation, microhistological analyses of faecal samples and n-alkane technique. Browse species dominated the goats’ ...