The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the inclusion of sunflower cake in the diets of lambs on meat quality. Forty male, uncastrated Santa Ines lambs with an initial average body ...weight of 20.9 ± 0.41 kg were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments. The lambs were fed 500 g/kg hay and 500 g/kg concentrate (corn, soybean meal, urea, ammonium sulfate and sunflower cake) in their diet, and the experimental treatments were 0, 10, 20, and 30% sunflower cake inclusion (DM basis). The inclusion of sunflower cake in the diet did not affect (P > 0.05) the content of ash and protein, overall acceptance, or sensory aroma of the lamb meat. Total lipids and moisture content of the longissimus lumborum muscle increased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with sunflower cake inclusion. The C16:0, ΣSFA, ΣMUFA:ΣSFA ratio, Δ-9 desaturase enzyme and atherogenicity index in the longissimus lumborum muscle decreased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with sunflower cake inclusion in lamb diets, whereas a linear increase occurred (P ≤ 0.05) in C12:0, C18:0, ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA, ΣPUFA:ΣSFA and ΣPUFA:ΣMUFA ratios, Σn-6, Σn-3, desirable fatty acids, h:H index, elongase activity, and flavor, tenderness and juiciness sensory qualities in lamb meat. Among the panelists, the highest preference (35.9%) was for meat with 30% sunflower cake inclusion in the diet. Sunflower cake up to 30% of total DM can be included in the diet of Santa Ines lambs, because lipid nutritional quality and the sensory qualities of the lamb meat increase, in addition to improvement in nutraceutical compounds, such as the CLA content, and in the AI, PUFA:SFA and PUFA:MUFA ratios, desirable fatty acids content and h:H ratio, which are beneficial to the health of consumers.
The effect of different proportions of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill) silage (CPS) and intermittent water supply (IWS) to crossbreed goats' diets on carcass traits and meat quality were ...evaluated. The IWS caused a reduction (p = 0.03) in the percentage of leg fat in the animals. The rib eye area, carcass weight, and physical-chemical characteristics were not affected (p > 0.05) by the CPS or IWS. The IWS reduced (p = 0.04) the elongase enzyme activity. The CPS inclusion in the diet reduced C22:0 (p = 0.01), some branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA), C20:1 (p = 0.03), c13-C18:1 (p = 0.01) fatty acids. Therefore, in situations of water scarcity, an intermittent water supply of up to 48 h and diets with up to 42% cactus pear silage, can be adopted in goat feedlot, without affecting carcass traits and meat quality.
The present study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, profile and fermentative losses, microbial population and the aerobic stability of mixed silages of cactus pear and gliricidia. The ...treatments corresponded to the addition levels of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud), in the silages of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica Mill.), at ratios 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% gliricidia. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and regression to evaluate the effect of the addition levels of gliricidia. The average related to the opening days were compared by the Tukey's test and the average hours of exposure to air were compared by the Student's t-test. The addition of gliricidia in cactus pear silage provided a linear increasing effect for pH, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), neutral detergent insoluble protein (NDIP), and increased aerobic stability (AS). The highest dry matter recovery was estimated in the silages with 58% gliricidia. Based on the fermentative, chemical composition and silage losses, all the silages tested were adequate. However, considering aerobic stability, the addition of at least 25% gliricidia is recommended to provide the animal a feed with important quality and high nutritional value.
ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to use biometric measurements to predict carcass characteristics of lambs of the Morada Nova breed. We used 48 lambs with mean initial body weight (BW) of ...15.0±0.04 kg and slaughter body weight (SBW) of 26.37±2.43 kg. The animals were weighed weekly and underwent a period of adaptation of 15 days before slaughter. The biometric measurements were obtained the day before slaughter, comprising body length, withers height, rump height, thigh length, breast width, rump width, thigh perimeter, rump perimeter, thorax perimeter, leg length, and body condition score. Additional measurements included slaughter BW and empty BW (EBW). The data recorded at slaughter comprised the weights of the viscera, carcass, and internal fat and offal. The in vivo measurements of body length were present in most of the equations for predicting the SBW, EBW, hot carcass weight (HCW), and cold carcass weight (CCW). The SBW and EBW presented a variation of approximately 9%. The variables that evaluated the carcass, HCW, and CCW demonstrated less data variation than SBW and EBW, which was probably because these measurements were obtained following evisceration and skinning, thus removing factors of more significant variation in vivo . The prediction models found in the present study varied with an R² of 0.49-0.93, indicating high levels of variation. In sum, biometric measurements can be used to predict the carcass characteristics of Morada Nova lambs with different body conditions.
The experiment aimed to evaluate the fermentative and nutritional profile of the silage of four soybean plant genotypes (BRS 333 RR, Pampeanas: C50, C60, and C70) ensiled with levels of sugarcane (0, ...25, 50, 75, and 100%). The experiments were conducted in a completely randomized design, in factorial scheme 4 × 5 (four soybean genotypes and five levels of sugarcane inclusion) with four replicates. Silages with 100% soybean plant presented the highest levels of butyric acid (P < 0.001) and ammoniacal nitrogen (P < 0.047); however, the intermediate addition of sugarcane contributed to lactic fermentation (P < 0.001). Besides, there was a quadratic effect (P < 0.05) for the recovery of dry matter, which ranged from 83.28 to 95.29%, with higher values observed for silage with the same proportions of soybean plant and sugarcane. It was verified that the crude protein content exhibited decreasing linear effects (P < 0.001), varying among 4.60 to 7.48% in the silages. It was concluded that the highest recovery of dry matter, the best fermentation profile, and the highest levels of crude protein and digestibility occurred in the inclusion between 25 and 50% of sugarcane in soybean silage, with the superiority of the C50 soybean genotype.
This study aimed to evaluate the ensiling fermentation profile, chemical composition, and in-situ degradability of mixed ration silages combining babassu by-products as a nutritional alternative for ...livestock. A completely randomised design was used, with four treatments (silages) and five replications (silos), which were composed of: Sugarcane silage, SS (control); sugarcane silage with corn and soybean meal (standard diet, MRSS); sugarcane silage with corn, soybean meal, and babassu flour, MRSF; and sugarcane silage with corn, soybean meal, and babassu cake, MRSC. The highest values (p < 0.05) of dry matter recovery (DMR) were for the MRSS, MRSF, and MRSC treatments, which also had higher dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and non-fibrous carbohydrate contents (NFC), compared to SC treatment, which showed the highest levels of neutral detergent fibre corrected for ash and protein (NDFap), acid detergent fibre (ADF), lignin (LIG), and ethanol. The MRSS, MRSF, and MRSC treatments exhibited higher potential degradability (PD) and effective degradability (ED) of DM and CP; and higher (P < 0.05) degradability of DM and CP compared to SS treatment. The inclusion of babassu concentrate and by-products in sugarcane silages in the form of total ration acted positively in the qualitative indicators of the silages.
The objective was to evaluate the morphological, productive and chemical characteristics of Crotalarias juncea, spectabilis and ochroleuca, and pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) submitted to phosphate ...fertilization levels. The experimental design used was completely randomized in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme, with four doses of phosphorus (0, 100, 200, 300 kg ha
−1
of P
2
O
5
) and four legume cultivars (Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria spectabilis, Crotalaria ochroleucaanda and Cajanus cajan), with four repetitions. There was no interaction between the levels of phosphate fertilizer and the legume species for the productive characteristics studied. There was a positive linear effect for leaf dry matter production, stem dry matter production and total dry matter production as a function of phosphate fertilization. There was a positive linear effect for the levels of leaf crude protein, with enhanced levels of phosphorus. There was greater fertilizer efficiency in legumes, at a dose of 100 kg ha
−1
, with a response of 11.46 kg ha
−1
for leaf dry matter production and 33.40 kg ha
−1
for total dry matter production. Among legumes, Crotalaria spectabilis is recommended due to the higher total dry matter and leaf productivity, greater number of nodules, and better chemical composition and digestibility.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the addition of increasing cottonseed cake contents in the diet. The diets were composed of corn silage (500 g kg
−1
) and concentrate feed (500 g kg
−1
) on a ...dry matter (DM) basis. The treatments consisted of the substitution of 0, 140, 280, and 420 g kg
−1
soybean meal to cottonseed cake in the DM of concentrate feed. Four rams of the Santa Inês breed, average age of 12 months and average weight of 27.77 ± 3.87 kg, were distributed in a Latin square design (4 × 4) in a split-split-plot design, with diets in the plots and as subplots were 5 days of collection and the collection times. The results were subjected to analysis of variance and regression at 5% probability. The soybean meal substitution contents by cottonseed cake in the concentrate increased linearly the pH (
P
= 0.019). Ruminal ammonia–nitrogen concentration decreased linearly by 0.0137 mg dL
−1
at each 10 g/kg of substitution and the time after feeding promoted the same effect (
P
< 0.001) decreased linearly by 0.6204 mg dL
−1
at each hour after feeding. There was an increased linearly of 0.0116 mmol mL
−1
at the concentration of propionic (
P
= 0.008) and a reduction of 0.0062 mmol mL
−1
at the concentration of butyric (
P
= 0.009) with cottonseed cake content; however, the substitution did not influence the others short-chain fatty acids. Replacement of soybean meal with cottonseed cake in the sheep feed did not significantly alter the blood parameters, promoting minor changes in the ruminal parameters mainly in the ruminal ammonia–nitrogen without affecting the animal’s health.
ABSTRACT The objective was to determine the optimal dehydrated passion fruit pulp replacing ground corn in diets for goat kids. We used 24 crossbred castrated goat kids with initial body weight of ...26.6±0.3 kg. The experimental period was 23 days, with 15 days of adjustment and acclimatization (mostly to the installation and diet). Kids were distributed in a randomized experimental design with four treatments of 0, 80, 160, or 240 g/kg of dehydrated passion fruit residue as a supplementary inclusion in the dry matter (DM) content of the diet. The statistical model considered the fixed effect of the included amount of residue from dehydrated passion fruit. Analysis of variance was conducted using the PROC GLM of SAS. Intakes of DM and total digestible nutrients (TDN) were not affected by residue inclusion. However, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake increased linearly. The inclusion linearly decreased intake of ether extract (EE) and non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC). Crude protein (CP) intake was quadratically affected, with a greater value under treatment of 160 g/kg passion fruit. Dry matter and NFC digestibility decreased linearly with the amount of passion fruit included in diet. Fecal N and total N excretion values (in g/d and %N intake) increased linearly. Nitrogen balance and N retained values showed a quadratic increase, with greater values under the 160 g/kg inclusion. Time spent ruminating, DM and NDF eating efficiency, and g DM/bolus chewed were affected quadratically by inclusion of passion fruit residue. The replacement of ground corn with dehydrated passion fruit residue at a level of 160 g/kg is recommended for diets of goat kids to improve their NDF and CP intake and their N balance without affecting DM and TDN intakes.
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