An experiment was conducted to define a protocol to determine metabolizable nutrient and energy values of diets. The metabolizability (M) was calculated of the dry matter (DM); crude protein (CP); gross energy (GE) and AMEn of a single diet. Eighty-one 21-day old (d) male birds were used. The tested methodologies were: Cr2O3 (0.5%) as an indicator (partial collection) or Fe2O3 (1%) as a marker; fasting (0, 4, 6 and 8 h) prior to excreta collection and at the end of […]

The objective of this study was, by using a path analysis of seed yield in white clover, to obtain basic information for use in management strategies for higher seed production and higher natural reseeding and greater persistence of the species in the pasture. The following variables were analyzed: number of flower buds, number of inflorescences, number of mature inflorescences, number of legumes/inflorescence, weight of 100 seeds and seed yield. The variable most correlated with seed yield was the number of […]

The effects were assessed of including phytase and its nutritional matrix in diets containing sorghum on the performance of the birds, egg quality, intake and phosphorus excretion and retention in laying hens. One hundred and eighty laying hens were arranged in a randomized complete design in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement with two phytase levels (0 and 500 FTU/kg diet), two levels of corn replacement for sorghum (50 and 100%) and a control diet (without phytase and […]

The objective of this study was evaluate the levels of protein-energy supplementation, offered at different frequencies, to growing steers kept on Brachiaria decumbens pasture during the dry season. Twenty-five no castrated steers were used, 191 kg initial average weight, in a randomized complete block design, with five replications per treatment in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement, that is, two protein-energy supplementation levels (0.3 and 0.6% on the basis of body weight (BW)), two supplement distribution frequencies – […]

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the use of supplementation in pasture cultivated with Avena strigosa (black oats), Lolium multiflorum (ryegrass) and Vicia sativa L. (common vetch) on the composition and somatic cells count (SCC) of Jersey cow milk. Eight cows of the Jersey breed were separated by milk production, lactation period and live weight and were randomly blocked into two homogeneous groups (one with supplementation and other only on pasture), in a randomized complete design. […]

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the susceptibility to aerobic deterioration and dry matter losses of fresh sugarcane and silages with or without chemical additives, and diets composed formulated with these bulks. The experiments were conducted in a complete randomized design with four replications, consisting of fresh or ensilaged sugarcane with calcium oxide or limestone at the level of 1% fresh matter. The aerobic stability was assessed of the bulks and diets by monitoring temperature, pH and dry […]

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the forms of phosphorus application, soil sampling and row spacing on critical levels of phosphorus in the soil and shoot for the establishment of elephant grass cv. Napier. The treatments were arranged in three randomized blocks and consisted of five phosphorus levels (0, 1, 2, 3.3 and 5) corresponding, respectively, to 0, 30, 60, 100 and 150 kg/ha P for application on the bottom of the furrow and to 0, 60, 120, 200 […]

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of including animals or vegetable fats and mineral on the acceptability, nutrient digestibility and triglyceride plasma concentrations and cholesterol in horses. Four foals aged 13 to 16 months were used receiving diet containing grass hay and concentrate. The experimental design was a Latin Square; using orthogonal contrasts. The acceptability was not influenced by the quantity nor the type of oil added to the diets. The smallest dry matter (DM) digestibility […]

Four hundred and twenty one day-old broilers, Cobb 500, were randomly allotted to 15 treatments with four replications (7 chicks/pen) in a 21-day battery trial to assess the relative availability of phosphorus (RBP) from three feeds with two different genetic characteristics (low phytic phosphorus or conventional). One semi-purified basal diet based on corn starch and soybean meal with the addition of conventional barley, barley with low phytate phosphorus, conventional corn, corn with low phytate phosphorus, conventional soybean meal, soybean meal […]

The study was conducted with the objective of evaluate different types and volumes of diluents through the reproductive performance of 72 artificially inseminated sows. A randomized complete design was used in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, with three diluents and two semen volumes. The semen used was obtained from three boars of known fertility. The ejaculates were diluted in equal parts, with the commercial diluents A, B and C, constituting semen doses of 1.5 billion spermatozoids in volumes of […]