The true protein digestibility in the small intestine of different ruminant feeds were measured using in situ and in vitro techniques. Two steers with average body weight of 450 kg and fitted with ruminal cannulas were used for in situ incubation of different feeds. The following feedstuffs were evaluated: animal and vegetable protein concentrate, energy concentrate, fiber by-products, and forage. Protein truly digested in the small intestine was estimated by pepsin or pepsin/pancreatin incubation with or without previous ruminal incubation. […]

This study aimed to evaluate the behavior and the welfare of hens comparing a conventional housing system (laying cages in battery) with another system using litter + nest. The effects of environmental conditions (stress or comfort) on behavior responses of laying hens were also analyzed by precision techniques. Two groups of 10 birds of Hy-line W36 and Hy-line Brown stains, at the beginning of the production phase, were submitted to two environmental conditions (26°C with 60% RU or 35°C with […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of leaf/stem ratio (L/S) in the in situ dry matter degradability (ISDMD) of elephantgrass clones. The experiment was carried out at IPA Experimental Station, in Vitória de Stº. Antão, PE. Two groups of elephantgrass clones were studied: GROUP I (Cameroon, Mercker México, Três Rios, Elefante de Pinda and Guaçu/IZ), characterized by its high L/S ratio, and GROUP II (CE 08 A.D., Taiwan A-25, Goiano, CE 03 A.D. and Merc.), with […]

The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effects of antimicrobial and herbal extracts on digestibility, performance, morphology and histology of weanling pigs. One hundred and twenty weaned pigs were used to compare five treatments: control – basal diet; antimicrobial – basal diet plus Zn bacitracina, olaquindox, and colistin (50 ppm of each); herbal extract A, B and C – basal diet plus 700 ppm, 1,400 ppm and 2,100 ppm of herbal extract, respectively, with 12 replications (pens of […]

Thirty-six lactating Holstein cows averaging 258 days in milk were used to study the supplementation of yeast culture (Levucell SC20 – Lallemand) in dairy diets with two starch contents (22 vs. 32%). The lowest starch content was obtained by partial (50:50) replacement of finely ground corn by dried citrus pulp. A replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design was used with four periods of 24 days each. The first 20 days were used for diet adaptation and the last four […]

This experiment was carried out to study the effects of feeding trace minerals as organic complex on the performance and bone characteristics for pullets in the period from 7-12 weeks old. The treatments consisted of the supplementation of trace minerals in the inorganic form (control) and organic form with inclusion of 0.4% in the diet, that corresponds to the supplement levels of 60, 80, 70, 10, 1, and 0.3 ppm of zinc, iron, manganese, copper, iodine and selenium, respectively, and […]

Records of growth traits of 1,698 animals born from 1979 to 2002 in a Caracu herd selected for yearling weight were used to estimate genetic parameters for birth weight (PN), weight at 4 months adjusted at 120 days (P120), weaning weight adjusted at 210 days (P210), daily weight gain from birth to weaning (GND), weight adjusted at 378 days of males (P378), weight adjusted at 550 days of heifers (P550), daily weight gain during the performance test (G112), post-weaning daily […]

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pregnancy simulation (placement of 100 lead spheres in the uterus-LEAD) and ovariectomy (OVAE) on traits of carcass and meat of heifers finished in feedlot. Animals not pregnant and with intact ovary were used as the control (CTRL). Nineteen crossbred heifers (½ Nelore x ½ Red Angus) averaging 18 months of age and 257.8 kg of body weight were used. Animals were fed a diet containing (% DM): 41% of corn silage […]

Four hundred and thirty-two Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings averaging initial weight of 0.60 ± 0.02 g were allotted to thirty-six 150 L-aquaria to determine total phosphorus requirement. The experiment was analyzed as a completely randomized design, with six treatments (0.55, 0.73, 0.94, 1.14, 1.37, and 1.59% of total phosphorus), six replicates and 12 fishes per experimental unit. The fishes were fed diets with 32% of CP and 3,000 kcal of DE/kg, during 40 days. Quadratic effect was observed for […]

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the quality and nutritive value of marandugrass silages. It was evaluated the followings treatments: T1– forage without treatment (control); T2 – 10% of pelleted citric pulp (CiP); T3 – enzymatic bacterial additive (EBA) (SIL-ALL-C4 of Alltech) applied at 5 g/L of water/t of forage; T4 – Coarse chopped forage wilted for 4 hours under the sun. The grass was harvested with 60 days of regrowth (24% DM). The intake and digestibility evaluations […]