The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feed supplementation on the chemical and tissue composition of leg and loin from carcass of Santa Inês lambs, finished on pasture. Twenty-four castrated 3 to 4 month-old Santa Inês lambs were used, initial live body weight (LW) 15.8 kg, distributed in three concentrate supplementation levels (0.0, 1.0 and 1.5% LW). A randomized complete design was used, with three treatments and eight replications (lambs). The leg and loin were dissected […]

The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse from September 2001 to January 2002 to select several prickly-pear varieties resistant to cochineal carmine. Twenty pricky-pear varieties were evaluated as a completely randomized experimental design with four replicates. The plants were artificially infested. The infestation level was evaluated by a 0 – 5 scale. The most resistants clone are “Miúda” and “Orelha de Elefante”.

Five Holstein cows were allotted to a 5 × 5 Latin square design with the objective of evaluating the microbial protein production, using the total excretion of purine derivatives (PD), obtained from spot urine collection, plasma and milk urea and nitrogen (N)-urea. The five treatments contained different forage sources: sugar cane bagasse (CB), tifton hay (TH), elephant grass hay (EH), sorghum silage (SS) and a mixture of sugar cane bagasse + sorghum silage (CBSS). The milk urea (10.98 mg/dL) and […]

The effect of the addition of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of urea to dehydrated vineyards residue, associated to forage cactus palm in the feeding of goats on intake and nutrient digestibility was evaluated. Twenty-four castrated crossbred goats, without defined breed, with average 18 kg of BW were distributed to a randomized block design according to the body weight. The addition of increasing levels of urea to dehydrated vineyards residue increased intakes of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude […]

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of cannula placement site and hour of collection on the botanical composition of sheep diet. Ten castrated sheep Santa Inês breed were used, with five of them using permanent ruminal cannula and the five others with esophageal cannula. Water and mineral mix were available ad libitum. Samples collected from both cannulas revealed 39 species with an average of 20 species occurring in each monthly sampling. In addition, other Poaceae species were […]

The effects of cottonseed and sunflower oil supplementation on milk composition were tested using crossbred Moxotó goats. Experimental diets were as follows: control, without addition of oil; addition of 3% cottonseed oil; 5% cottonseed oil; 3% sunflower oil and 5% sunflower oil (%DM). Ten confined lactating goats were allotted to a double Latin square experimental design (5 × 5). Each period was comprised by 12 days of adaptation to the diet and three days of sampling in each period. Cottonseed […]

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the intake and apparent digestibility of the nutrients in diets containing different levels (0, 12.0, 25.0, 38.0, and 51.0%) of forage cactus (Opuntia ficus indica Mill) in total replacement of corn (Zea mays L.) and partial of Tifton hay (Cynodon spp). Five Holstein cows were assigned to a 5×5 latin square. The animals showed an average of 583 ± 7,07 kg BW and lactation period around 110 days. Each experimental period lasted 17 days, […]

The objective of this trial was to investigate the effects of partial replacement of sorghum silage and soybean meal with whole cottonseed on microbial protein synthesis and efficiency and nitrogen metabolism in lactating Holstein cows receiving forage cactus based diets. Five animals were randomly assigned to a 5 × 5 Latin square design and were fed diets containing (% of DM): 0.0, 6.25, 12.50, 18.75, and 25.00% of whole cottonseed. Inclusion of whole cottonseed in the diet did not affect […]

This trial was carried out from June 1999 to March 2000 to evaluate the chemical composition of samples of sabiá legume (Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia Benth.), with and without thorns, collected in the rainy and dry seasons and to compare the botanical composition of sabiá pasture with that of the diet selected by the grazing animals. No significant difference was observed in chemical composition between samples of sabiá with and without thorns. The mean values obtained in the rainy samples were: 26.45% […]

Five lactating Brown-Swiss cows averaging 520 kg of body weight (BW) and 15 kg of milk yield were assigned to a 5 x 5 Latin square to study the effects of replacing sorghum silage (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) with a columnar cactus known as xiquexique (Pilosocereus gounellei (A. Weber ex K. Schum.) Byl ex Rowl.) on animal performance and apparent digestibility of nutrients. The experimental diets contained (DM basis): 0, 12.5, 25, 37.5, or 50% of xiquexique. Each experimental period […]