Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of microbial enzymes on weight gain, feed intake and feed: gain ratio. In the first trial, 288 chicks from 8-21 days old were assigned to a complete randomized design with a 2 x 2 fatorial arrangement: meal (soybean meal + sorghum and soybean meal + millet) and with or without multi-enzymatic complex (MC), with four replications of 18 bird per experimental unit. Diets were formulated to contain the same levels of metabolizable […]

The objective of this trial was to study the effects of different dietary levels of the ionophore monensin on apparent digestibility of nutrients and on ruminal, blood, and urinary metabolites in dairy heifers. Samples of ruminal fluid (pre-feeding and 2 hours post-feeding), blood, urine, and feces all were collected from 28 confined Holstein heifers. Diets contained (dry matter basis): 32.84% of concentrate (corn grain, soybean meal, urea, and mineral salt mixture), 33.58% of corn silage, and 33.58% of sugarcane. The […]

This trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding different levels of cottonseed hulls on nutrient intake, apparent total tract digestibility, carcass physical composition and traits, and percentage of commercial cuts of confined steers. Eighteen crossbred steers averaging 230 kg of initial body weight (BW) were used. Two animals were slaughtered at the beginning of the trial, performing the reference group while the remaining were uniformly assigned to a complete randomized design in one of four treatments (% of […]

An trial was conducted to determine the best electrolyte balance (EB) for broilers from 1 to 42 days old. In the first phase of the experiment 2,112 Ross chicks male were reared in the floor covered with shaving woods and fed two corn-soybean meal based diet: one with 20 and one with 23% of crude protein (CP) combined with 0; 50; 100; 150; 200; 250; 300 and 350 mEq/kg of EB. In the growing phase, 1,728 broilers of the total, […]

Principal component analyses were applied to carcass records of 367 animals of a F2 swine population. Starting from 33 traits, 17 showed variation lower than 0.7 (eigenvalue lower than 0.7) and significant simple linear correlations with the other traits, indicating they were redundant. These results suggest the following variables to be used in future carcass studies: slaughter age; right side carcass weight; carcass length by the Brazilian Method of Carcass Classification; higher backfat thickness at boston shoulder area and in […]

Two hundred and fifty six curimbatá (Prochilodus affins) fingerlings averaging initial weight of 2.72 ± 0.11 g, stocked in 32 aquariums (100 L) with water renewal, controlled temperature and individual aeration, were used to determine the dietary crude protein (CP) requirements, according to the digestible energy level (DE). The experiment was carried out in to a 4 x 2 factorial scheme (four CP levels: 18.0, 22.0, 26.0 and 30.0% combined with two DE levels: 2,700 and 3,000 kcal/kg), according to […]

Records of 844 animals of a F2 swine population were used to evaluate the association among four performance traits (litter size at birth, teat number, weight at 77 days of age, feed intake and feed:gain ratio from 77 to 105 days of age) and 17 carcass traits (slaughter age, right side carcass weight, carcass length by the Brazilian Carcass Classification Method, backfat thickness at boston shoulder area and the midline, loin depth, heart, spleen, kidney, cold right side carcass, ham, […]

The objetive of this study was to verify differences among forages species in relation to the percentage of identifiable fragment as affected by the digestion process and season. Fresh last expanded leaf lamina samples of the species Melinis minutiflora Pal. de Beauv (Molassesgrass), Hyparrhenia rufa (Nees) Stapf. (Jaraguagrass), Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. (Signalgrass), Imperata brasilienses Trin. (Sapegrass), and foliar laminas of Medicago sativa L. (Alfalfa) and Schinus terebenthifolius Raddi (Aroeira), sampled in the rainy and dry seasons, were digested in vitro […]

The objective of this trial was to determine the body composition and nutritional requirements of macrominerals for Morada Nova sheep. Thirty lambs averaging 15 kg of initial body weight (BW) and 70 days of age were used in this study. Six lambs (reference-animals) were slaughtered with 15 kg of BW to determine the initial body composition using the comparative slaughter methodology; six other lambs were slaughtered with 20 kg of BW (intermediary slaughter) and the remaining 18 lambs were distributed […]

Bromus auleticus is a perennial, native species of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which has demonstrated adaptability, potential yield of good quality forage as well as high morphological diversity. This work has analyzed band patterns from enzymatic systems and RAPD markers, with the objective to access the genetic variability in 16 accessions of Bromus auleticus from Rio Grande do Sul. The variability was evaluated using Jaccard similarity index. The method of grouping based on the average (UPGMA) was […]