The objective of this trial was to investigate the effect of different dietary ratios of concentrate (C) to ceara rubbertree hay (CRH; Manihot Glaziovii Muell. Arg.) on performance of lambs. Thirty two intact Santa Inês lambs averaging 70 days of age and 16.02±2.371 kg of body weight were fed one of the following four treatments as total mixed rations: 80C:20CRH (diet A), 60C:40CRH (diet B), 40C:60CRH (diet C), or 20C:80CRH (diet D) in a completely randomized design (eight repetitions/treatment). Increasing […]

The objective of this trial was to study the effect of forage defoliation intensity and energy or protein supplementation on chewing activity of beef cattle. Eight Nellore steers fitted with ruminal cannula were used in a rotational grazing system of tanzaniagrass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) with 33 days of resting and three days of grazing. Additional steers were allowed to access the pasture before those with ruminal cannula to maintain the green dry matter (GDM) residue at 1,000 or 4,000 kg/ha […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of replacing (0 and 100%, DM basis) soybean meal with urea, in diets with two levels of concentrate (0.75 and 1.25% of BW), on intake, nutrient digestibility, and ruminal metabolism in cattle. It was also of particular interest to investigate the variation in the daily excretion of internal (iADF) and external (Cr2O3) markers. Four Holstein steers averaging 445 kg of BW and fitted with ruminal and abomasal cannulas were used […]

Twenty-seven male Saanen kids were used in a completely randomized design to investigate the effect of feed restriction on retail and biological carcass yields, proportion of carcass retail cuts, carcass compactness, leg tissue composition, and ribeye area (REA). Animals were assigned to one of the following treatments: 0 (free access to feed: ad libitum), 30 or 60% of feed restriction. Initial body weight (BW) averaged 5 kg and animals were slaughtered when they reached 20 kg BW. Data were submitted […]

Forty-eight hair crossbred Santa Inês lambs (24 males and 24 females) grazing Brachiaria humidicola grass and creep fed until weaning were assigned to a completely randomized design with a 6 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments; six weaning ages: 56, 70, 84, 98, 126, and 140 days and two genders: male and female. Animals that were weaned from 56 to 98 days of age were feedlot fed until slaughter (126 days) while those weaned at 126 and 140 days were […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate three different concentrate levels (CL) (23, 43 and 63%) on intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal metabolism, and microbial efficiency in Holstein bovines and Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) fed diets containing ground corn and dry cassava by-product as energy sources. Three Holstein bovines and three Murrah buffaloes averaging, respectively, 473±54 kg and 400±33 kg of body weight (BW), fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were blocked by species and randomly assigned to two replicated […]

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 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 […]

This study aimed to evaluate the inbreeding coefficient, alleles fixation and selection limit in a population selected during 20 generations. Selection was based on breeding values predicted by classical best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP), BLUP associated with molecular markers (BLUPM) and individual selection (IS) using different mating designs. The genetic similarity matrix used in BLUPM was obtained by simulating 100 micro satellite markers (simple sequence repeats) using a similarity coefficient corresponding to the mean Euclidean distance between quantitative data. The […]

The aim of this study was to evaluate ovarian pre-stimulation using recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) or rbST associated to FSH on follicular population, oocyte retrieval and in vitro embryo production in Gir cows (Bos indicus). Estrous cycle of non-lactating cycling cows with similar body and reproductive conditions were synchronized with cloprostenol followed by norgestomet ear implants, replaced every fourteen days. The animals were randomly distributed in three treatments: TI or control (punctured without pre-stimulation), TII (injection of 160 mg of […]