The objective of this study was to determine the fluctuation of serum antibodies in goats in the period before and immediately after kidding and the passive immunity acquisition efficiency in kids fed bovine and goat colostrum, to assess an alternative for colostrum management. Eighteen goats and their offspring were used in a total of 33 animals. Goat blood samples started to be collected 45 days before the predicated kidding date, at five-day intervals until the 5th day post kidding. The […]

The objective of the present study was to assess the effective thermal conductivity of the hair coat (kef, mW.m-1.K-1) of Holstein cows in a tropical environment, as related to conduction and radiation in the absence of free convection. The average kef was 49.72 mW.m-1.K-1, about twice the conductivity of the air (26 mW.m-1.K-1) and much less than that of the hair fibres (260 mW.m-1.K-1). The low kef values were attributed mainly to the small cross area of individual hairs, ρef/ρf […]

The objective of this research was to study productive and economical aspects of laying hens (Gallus gallus) submitted to different housing densities. Two hundred and sixty-four laying hens were housed in cages with dimensions of 100 cm × 50 cm × 40 cm in a randomized complete design with four groups distributed in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement, with 8, 10, 12 and 14 animals/cage, corresponding to 625, 500, 416,6 and 357,14 cm2/animal. The following characteristics were assessed: egg […]

The experiment evaluated the meat yield of prepared beef cuts, bone and trimmings of steer and culled cow carcasses. Culled 72-month-old Braford cows, 496 kg live weight and 36-month-old steers, 494 kg live weight were used, all from the same herd and finished on ryegrass pasture. A randomized complete design, with two treatments and 15 replications, was used. Hot carcass weight was lower for cows (248 kg) than for steers (263 kg). Steer carcasses presented better conformation, lower chilling loss, […]

The objective of this study was the evaluation of the inclusion of calcium propionate, sodium butyrate and sodium monensin in the starter concentrate on ruminal parameters and forestomach development in dairy calves. Fifteen newborn Holstein calves were rumen cannulated and housed in individual stalls until ten weeks old, with free access to water, fed 4 liters of milk per day, split in two meals, and starter concentrate ad libitum containing sodium butyrate (0.15%), sodium monensin (30 ppm) or calcium propionate […]

The objective of the present study was to determine the A and B fractions and the rumen degradation rate (Kd) of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in 27 feeds and determine the intestinal digestibility of non-degraded rumen protein by the three steps and mobile nylon bag techniques. Rice meal, babassu meal, wheat and corn germ, ground corn cobs and straw, ground corn cobs, corn, citrus pulp, sorghum, starea and cottonseed meal with 28, 38 and 46% CP, peanut […]

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the digestibility, intake, performance and carcass characteristics in young crossbred bulls fed balanced diets based on sugarcane or sorghum silage. In the digestibility assessment in the feedlot, four and eighteen young crossbred young bulls were used per diet, kept in individual stalls, in a randomized complete experimental design with two diets (sorghum silage + 1.0% live weight in concentrate and chopped sugar cane + 1.2% of live weight concentrate). The diets […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the replacement of giant forage cactus (Opuntia ficus indica Mill) by small forage cactus (Nopalea cochenillifera) in diets for growing cattle on the nutrient intake and digestibility. Two incubation periods were also assessed (144 and 288 hours) to obtain the indigestible fractions of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber. Five Holstein heifers were used, approximately 220 kg initial weight placed in a 5 × 5 Latin square design and […]

The objectives of this study were to analyze the economic viability of meat lamb production systems and identify the components with greatest influence on production cost. The study was carried out in two stages. Stage 1: comparison of finishing lamb production systems: (1) lambs weaned at 60 days and finished on pasture; (2) lambs with mother on pasture; (3) lambs with mother on pasture plus concentrate (1% BW/day) in creep feeding; and (4) lambs weaned at 60 days and feedlot. […]

This is a case study that aimed at proposing a management method based on macroprocesses to determine and achieve strategic goals for a beef cattle enterprise in order to maintain or to increase the company’s competitiveness. The method suggests using a series of tools mentioned in the literature that were organized providing logical reasons for the managers to build the management system. When mapping the processes of the studied enterprise, four macroprocesses were identified, which were sustained by 21 support […]