The green leaves, and particularly the green shoots, are commonly used as animal forage. They are sought after by sheep, goats and cattle, and are especially relished by camels. Shed, dried leaves are also sought after by camels and sheep. Camels may browse on this species up to 18-19 hours a day, ingesting 1.7 to 1.8 kg of fresh matter (Baumer, 1983). The tree is lopped for fodder in India. Balanites aegyptiacus could contribute up to 38% of the dry matter intake of goats in the dry season in Burkina Faso (Orwa et al., 2009).
The crude protein content is the highest during the wet season. Digestibility values for crude protein, dry matter and organic matter are higher than for Combretum aculeatum or Leucaena leucocephala in sheep at any stage. It is good forage especially when the tree is sprouting new leaves and new fruits (Kaboré-Zoungrana et al., 2008). It is also a good source of degradable protein though it needs mineral supplementation (Fadel Elseed et al., 2002) since it is poor in P and Cu (Mtui et al., 2008).
The fruit is appreciated by all livestock. Sheep and goats spit out the stones, but cattle swallow them several times during rumination, and camels swallow them after crushing with their teeth (Baumer, 1983).
The meal remaining after oil extraction from the fruits is widely used in Senegal, Sudan and Uganda as a stock feed (Orwa et al., 2009).