Twenty-seven male Saanen kids were used in a completely randomized design to investigate the effect of feed restriction on retail and biological carcass yields, proportion of carcass retail cuts, carcass compactness, leg tissue composition, and ribeye area (REA). Animals were assigned to one of the following treatments: 0 (free access to feed: ad libitum), 30 or 60% of feed restriction. Initial body weight (BW) averaged 5 kg and animals were slaughtered when they reached 20 kg BW. Data were submitted […]

The objective of this trial was to investigate the effect of different dietary ratios of concentrate (C) to ceara rubbertree hay (CRH; Manihot Glaziovii Muell. Arg.) on performance of lambs. Thirty two intact Santa Inês lambs averaging 70 days of age and 16.02±2.371 kg of body weight were fed one of the following four treatments as total mixed rations: 80C:20CRH (diet A), 60C:40CRH (diet B), 40C:60CRH (diet C), or 20C:80CRH (diet D) in a completely randomized design (eight repetitions/treatment). Increasing […]

Thirty-two intact lambs averaging 17.1 kg of initial body weight were assigned to one of the following four treatments: 30, 45, 60 or 75% of dietary concentrate in a completely randomized design (eight lambs/treatment). Lambs were feedlot fed during the experimental period (43 days). After slaughter, carcasses were refrigerated for 24 h. It was measured the weights and percentages of five cuts from the half carcass as well as the proportion of muscle, bone and fat tissue from the leg. […]

The objective of this trial was to investigate the intestinal digestion of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) using different markers and the effect of sampling collection period (daytime vs. diurnal) on nutrient digestion. Four crossbred Holstein x Zebu heifers fitted with ruminal and ileal cannulas were used in this trial. Animals were housed in individual pens and fed ad libitum bermudagrass hay plus 1 kg of concentrate (27% CP). The experiment lasted 60 days with seven days for diet adaptation and […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of feed restriction during a grazing period of 104 days (phase I) on intake, feed conversion, and digesta load as well as body weight (BW) change and weights of carcass and non-carcass components during a feedlot period (phase II) in crossbred steers. Thirty nine crossbred Holstein-Gyr steers averaging 19.3±5.1 months of age and 202.0±49.1 kg of BW at the beginning of the study were used. Animals were assigned to one […]

Forty-eight hair crossbred Santa Inês lambs (24 males and 24 females) grazing Brachiaria humidicola grass and creep fed until weaning were assigned to a completely randomized design with a 6 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments; six weaning ages: 56, 70, 84, 98, 126, and 140 days and two genders: male and female. Animals that were weaned from 56 to 98 days of age were feedlot fed until slaughter (126 days) while those weaned at 126 and 140 days were […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate three different concentrate levels (CL) (23, 43 and 63%) on intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal metabolism, and microbial efficiency in Holstein bovines and Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) fed diets containing ground corn and dry cassava by-product as energy sources. Three Holstein bovines and three Murrah buffaloes averaging, respectively, 473±54 kg and 400±33 kg of body weight (BW), fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were blocked by species and randomly assigned to two replicated […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of different dietary fat sources on weight gain, feed conversion, and feeding costs in feedlot water buffalo steers. Thirteen castrated Murrah steers averaging 297±9 kg of body weigh were assigned to one of the following three treatments: no added fat (control), soybean oil or whole soybean in a completely randomized design. The experiment lasted 84 days with three experimental periods of 28 days each. Samples of feeds, orts and feces […]

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of different dietary fat sources on intake, digestibility, and plasma urea N in feedlot water buffalo steers. Thirteen castrated Murrah steers averaging 297±9 kg of body weigh were assigned to one of the following three treatments: no added fat (control), soybean oil or whole soybean in a completely randomized design. The experiment lasted 84 days with three experimental periods of 28 days each. Samples of feeds, orts and feces were […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of replacing (0 and 100%, DM basis) soybean meal with urea, in diets with two levels of concentrate (0.75 and 1.25% of BW), on intake, nutrient digestibility, and ruminal metabolism in cattle. It was also of particular interest to investigate the variation in the daily excretion of internal (iADF) and external (Cr2O3) markers. Four Holstein steers averaging 445 kg of BW and fitted with ruminal and abomasal cannulas were used […]