Rumen parameters of sheep fed Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte hay / Parâmetros ruminais de ovinos alimentados com feno de Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte

ABSTRACT

Studies on animal nutrition have shown factors that affect livestock yield and their interaction with the environment, through assessments on food nutritional values, nutrient metabolism in livestock and biochemical parameters related to nutrition and animal breeding. Inclusion levels of hay Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte in the diet of sheep were studied by measuring the dry matter intake (DMI), production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and rumen pH. Four males Santa Inês sheep with cannulas in the rumen were used in a 4x4 Latin Square design with four periods (21 days each) and four treatments that corresponded to the inclusion levels (0%, 30%, 60% and 100%) of Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte to replace grass hay Cynodon dactylon cv. Coastcross in the diet. The DMI showed a quadratic effect increased until treatment with 60% of Arachis and reduced in the treatment with 100% of the legume. Significant interaction was observed between treatments and sampling times for NH3-N and acetate, propionate and butyrate concentration and the acetatepropionate ratio. There was no interaction between treatments and sampling time for rumen pH and total VFA concentration. It is observed a rapid increase in ammonia concentration until 2 hours after the feeding, and then a decline is seen. At 8 hours after the feeding, the quadratic effect occurred (P0.05) increasing NH

RESUMO

O artigo não apresenta resumo em português.