A method is presented to estimate the radiation heat balance of Holstein cows exposed to sun and under shade of a pasture, to contribute with a morphological characteristics better adequate for these animals in a tropical environment. The methods involved the haircoat characteristics (surface area of black spots, coat thickness, hair length, hair diameter, number of hairs per unit of area), skin and coat surface temperatures and environmental variables (solar irradiance, wind speed, air and globe temperatures). The amount of […]

Sugarcane bagasse with 55% of dry matter (DM) was treated with five levels of urea (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10%) and 5% ground whole soybean as a source of urease both, on a DM basis. The material was stored in plastic bags for 97 days (8 kg/ 50 L plastic bag), and after plastic bag opening, samples were collected at three aeration period (2, 9, and 16 days). A completely randomized design with three replicates was used. There was […]

The effects of five fiber sources on the production, chemical composition and cecotrophes nutritive contribution on dry matter and crude protein base were studied. Forty White New Zealand female rabbits were housed in metabolic cage for 12 days to adaptation to the diets. In the 13th day, to prevent coprophagy, the animals received a necklace of wood for a period of 24 hours, and the cecotrophes were collected every two hours. The standard diet had the alfalfa hay as a […]

The objective of this work was to compare the alternative methods to estimate the milk yield of cows from Gyr breed. A total of 3,632 lactations from of Gyr breed cows, from 1986 to 1996, were analyzed. The methods were: A – the morning milking control was performed in the odd months and the afternoon milking control in the even months – the yield of the morning milking control was multiplied by the multiplicative factor of the morning (MF) and […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of year of calving (YC), season of calving (SC), genetic group (GG), calf sex (SEX), reason for drying-off (RD), cow age at calving (AGE, in months), lactation length (LL, in days) and sire (SIRE) on milk yield (MY) in a Holstein breed herd. A total of 684 observations, from 267 cows raised in a physical models of dairy cattle production system maintained at Embrapa – Centro de Pesquisa de Pecuária […]

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the metabolizable energy (ME) (2850, 2921, 3000, 3075 e 3150 kcal/kg) levels for male broilers from 1 to 21 days of age, maintained in thermoneutralenvironment. Four hundred and fifty chicks, male, with average initial 44±0.2 g LW, were allotted to a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments, nine replicates and ten animals per experimental unit. The ME level of the diet affected the average weight gain and the ME intake, which increased, […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of three levels of artificial shade (0, 30 and 60%) on dry matter production, nitrogen content and morphological characteristics of six forage grasses (Andropogon gayanus cv. Planaltina, Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens, Melinis minutiflora, Panicum maximum cv. Vencedor and Setaria anceps cv. Kazungula). A randomized block design, with split plots and four replicates, was used; the shading levels were allotted to the plots and the species to the split […]

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of difference dehydration temperatures of the brewer grain on chemical composition and ruminal degradation of dry matter and crude protein. The samples of the brewer grain were oven dried at the temperature of 50.2 (BC50), 100.5 (BC100), 134.1 (BC135) and 173.7ºC (BC174), and a control treatment, with the sample cold dehydrated, by a liophylization process (BCL). The ruminal degradation kinetics was estimated by the in situ technique with samples in […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the addition of crescent levels of urea, with or without urease, on sugarcane bagasse nutritive value. The experimental design was a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement (4 x 2) + 1 (control), with four replicates. The evaluated factors were urea levels (2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0% DM), urease levels (presence – 20% of urea fresh matter – and absence) and a control treatment (0.0% urea and without […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the administration of 20 mg of slow liberation bovine somatotropin (rBST) on the dry matter intake and on the digestibility coefficient of dry matter (MS), acid detergent fiber, crude protein, crude energy, nitrogen balance and the daily weight gain in lambs fed diets based on corn silage, sugar cane or hydrolyzed bagasse and concentrate. Twenty-four crossbred lambs, averaging 4-5 months of age and 22 + 2 kg LW, were […]