Four Corriedale wethers averaging 45 kg of body weight were randomly assigned to a 4 x 4 Latin square to evaluate the effects of two carbohydrate sources (soybean hulls and corn grain) and two dietary forage levels (40 and 70%) on nutrient digestibility, N balance, and portal nutrient flux. Animals were fitted with catheters in the mesenteric and portal veins and in the mesenteric artery. Digestibility of nutrients and N balance were determined by total collection of feces and urine. […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients on sheep fed diets containing ammoniated elephantgrass silage plus cocoa meal or palm kernel cake, which partially replaced corn and soybean meal in the concentrate. Eighteen non-castrated Santa Inês sheep averaging 22.6 kg of body weight were assigned to a completely randomized design with a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. The experiment lasted 77 days with 14 days for diet adaptation and three […]

The objective of this trial was to compare the effect of different feeding strategies with or without ionophore (monensin) supplementation on performance of dairy heifers. Twenty Brown-Swiss heifers averaging 200 kg of body weight and five months of age were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Treatments were: two feeding regimes (conventional vs. compensatory growth) with (200 mg/animal/day) or without monensin supplementation. Animals in the conventional feeding regime were fed ad […]

The objective of this trial was to develop simple regression equations for estimating the chemical body composition of Nellore steers by using the chemical composition of the 9-10-11th ribs cut. Twenty-seven feedlot Nellore steers varying from 338.0 to 503.6 kg of BW and from 21 to 31 months of age were used. Six reference animals were slaughtered at the beginning of the trial to estimate the initial chemical body composition. Contents of water, protein, EE, and ash of the 9-10-11th […]

Four Santa Gertrudis young bulls fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannula were randomly assigned to a 4 x 4 Latin square to compare ruminal, intestinal, and total tract digestibility of nutrients estimated by the internal marker indigestible acid detergent fiber (IADF) or by the external marker chromic oxide (Cr2O3). Animals were fed palisadegrass hay (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu) and concentrates formulated to allow daily body weight gain of 0.5 and 1 kg and potential of microbial fermentation of 9.5 and […]

The objective of this trial was to use n-alkanes to estimate dry matter intake (DMI) and DM digestibility in sheep. It was also of particular interest to compare two methodologies of fecal collection (total collection vs. grab samples) as well as to identify which n-alkanes best estimate DMI and DM digestibility. Twenty animals were assigned to a completely randomized design and were fed diets containing different proportions of forage peanut (Arachis pintoi Koprov & Gregory cv. Amarillo) and signalgrass hays […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of rumen-degradable protein (RDP = 47, 52, 57 and 62%) associated to starch sources of low (corn) and high (cassava by-product (CBP) ruminal degradability on in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) and average daily gain of growing steers. In vitro DM digestibility was determined by using the Tilley and Terry (1963) technique. The in vitro data was submitted to analysis of variance and regression analysis in function of […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the estimates of the digestible fraction of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in cattle using the Surface Law approach. The prediction model used in this study was similar to that proposed by the NRC (2001). The following model parameters were used: lignin protection factor on cell wall carbohydrates (LPF) and digestibility coefficient of potentially digestible NDF (DCPNDF). Two estimate sets of these parameters were evaluated. The first set was called Weiss Model (WM) […]

Eight non-pregnant, non-lactating dairy goats fitted with ruminal cannulas were assigned to two replicated 4 x 4 Latin squares to evaluate the effects of lipid supplementation on intake, total tract and ruminal digestibility of nutrients, ruminal metabolism, and microbial protein synthesis. Animals were fed a control diet (no fat supplementation; 2.0% ether extract) or a diet supplemented (4.5% of added ether extract) with soybean oil (SO), calcium salts of long-chain fatty acids (CS) or whole soybean grain (WS). No significant […]

Eight crossbred steers fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were randomly assigned to two replicated 4 x 4 Latin squares to evaluate the effects of crude protein (CP) levels on intake and total, ruminal and intestinal digestibility of nutrients. Animals were fed a control diet containing Tifton 85 bermudagrass hay or the control diet supplemented with urea (NPN diet), soybean meal (SBM diet) or corn gluten meal-60 (CGM diet). Indigestible acid detergent fiber was used as the internal marker for […]