An experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance, carcass composition, cutting yields and economic viability of 5 or 10 ppm of ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) in diets for barrows and gilts from 94 to 130 kg. Sixty commercial hybrid pigs within a gender, were individually kept in pens and assigned a randomized experimental block design, in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, with three levels of RAC (0; 5 and 10 ppm) and two sexs (barrows and gilts). There were […]

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the oxidative stability of cashew nut meal (CNM) treated or not with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) at different storage times and the effect of diets containing this ingredient on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. A batch of 400 kg of freshly produced CNM was divided into five equal portions. One portion was stored with no antioxidant and the others were treated with 500 ppm of BHT at days zero, 7, 14 and 21. […]

Three experiments were carried out to estimate the calcium and phosphorus requirements of meat quail. In the first experiment (1-14 days of age), 1,250 meat quails were placed in a 5 × 5 factorial arrangement (calcium levels = 0.65, 0.76, 0.87, 0.98 and 1.09% × phosphorus levels = 0.12, 0.22, 0.32, 0.42 and 0.52%), totaling 25 treatments, with two replications of 25 birds per experimental unit. The different calcium levels did not affect bird performance. Body weight, weight gain and […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin A feed supplementation on the following boar semen characteristics: volume, motility, vigor, seminal pH, spermatic concentration, total number of spermatozoa, percentage of living sperm cells and morphologic abnormalities. The experiment was carried out with 10 hybrid boars (328.5 ± 2.12 days of age and 191.0 ± 12.0 kg live weight). The boars were separated into two treatments and fed with two vitamin A levels: control, 10.000 UI/kg feed […]

The objective of this experiment was to identify the effect of row spacing (0.90 m and 1.30 m) and harvesting ages on the chemical composition and characteristics of sugarcane silage and productivity of the RB72-454 variety sugarcane. The experiment was carried out from November 2004 to January 2006. Treatments consisted of a combination of 0.90 m and 1.30 m row spacing and harvesting ages were 240 days (plant-cane), 180 days (regrowth) and 420 days (plant-cane). A randomized block experimental design […]

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the development of beef heifers from 15 to 28 months of age, maintained on natural pasture under different herbage allowance (HA) managements. The treatments were fixed HA of 4, 8, 12 and 16% of the body weight (BW) over the year, and variable HA of 8-12%; 12-8%; and 16-12%, where the first value corresponded to the HA used in the spring and the second one to that used in the remainder of the […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of two pasture-based systems (PS), with elephant grass (EG) + ryegrass (RG) + white clover (WC) + spontaneous growing species (SGS), for PS1; and EG + RG + forage peanut (FP) + SGS, for PS2. Four paddocks, each one with 0.25 ha, were used in the assessment. A complete randomized block design was used with two replications (paddocks). The EG was established in rows with 4 m spacing. Pastures […]

The performance was evaluated of beef crossbred Holstein-Zebu steers, supplemented with different protein sources on pasture of Brachiaria brizantha, cv. Marandu, during the wet season. The area was divided into paddocks of 1.5 ha, with an availability of dry matter and potentially digestible dry matter of 7.46 and 4.50 t/ha, respectively. Twenty-five animals with 229 kg initial weight and 12 months of age were distributed in a complete randomized design, with five treatments and five replications. The following treatments were […]

The physical form of concentrate on the performance and rumen development on dairy calves was evaluated in this experiment. Twenty-two Holstein male calves, with 42.3 kg initial body weight, were individually housed, fed 4 L/d of liquid diet and starter concentrate in two physical forms (pelleted or coarsely ground). Starter concentrate intake was monitored daily and calves were weighted weekly, always after the morning liquid diet feeding. After 10 weeks, four calves from each treatment were slaughtered and rumen samples […]

Two studies were carried out to evaluate indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) and indigestible acid detergent fiber (iADF) as internal markers obtained by 144-h incubation in situ and chromium oxide (Cr2O3), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and isolated, purified and enriched lignin (LIPE®) as external markers, and two total fecal collection schemes (3 or 5 days) to estimate digestibility in bovines. The experimental procedure was a randomized block design in a split plot arrangement. In the first trial, five crossbreed heifers fed […]