Condensed tannins to increase bioactive fatty acids in the milk from Canindé, Repartida, and Saanen goats.

Bioactive fatty acids present in goat milk have the ability to reduce the risks of coronary heart disease in humans, and condensed tannins (CT) can modulate the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) biohydrogenation process in the rumen and consequently increase the levels of these fatty acids. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the inclusion of CT in the diet for Canindé, Repartida, and Saanen goats to increase the level of bioactive fatty acids in milk. Twenty-two lactating does of three genetic groups, six Canindé, eight Repartida, and eight Saanen, were randomly assigned in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of three genetic groups and two diets (control and with 50 g CT/kg DM). The inclusion of CT in the diet did not change (P > 0.05) nutrient intake and performance. However, the inclusion of CT promoted an increase (P < 0.05) in C14:1; cis-9; C18:2n6; C18:3n6; C18:3n3; PUFA; and long-chain fatty acids and reduction (P < 0.05) of C11; C12; C14; ω6/ω3; and atherogenicity index in milk fat. Thus, it is recommended to include CT in the diet for Canindé, Repartida, and Saanen goats to increase the level of bioactive fatty acids in milk. The inclusion of the tannins of Acacia mearnsii promoted an increase in C14:1; cis-9; C18:2n6; C18:3n6; C18:3n3; polyunsaturated fatty acid; and long-chain fatty acids and reduction of C11; C12; C14; ω6/ω3; and atherogenicity index in milk fat.

Impact of water restriction periods on carcass traits and meat quality of feedlot lambs in the Brazilian semi-arid region.

Water restriction periods were evaluated in crossbred lambs (n = 32) distributed in one of four treatments: without water restriction, water restriction for 24, 48 and 72 h. The water restriction for 72 h reduced the water and dry matter intakes, body weight at slaughter and hot and cold carcass yields. Water restriction did not affect the weight of the carcass cuts and the chemical composition of the meat. The fatty acid EPA increased and DHA reduced with increasing water restriction period. There was an increasing linear effect for meat shear force, with less force (30.5 N/cm2) for sheep meat without water restriction and higher force (45.8 N/cm2) for those with water restriction for 72 h. The period of 24 h of water restriction was the one that promoted the highest similarities in the characteristics assessed to those in animals receiving water ad libitum. Therefore, water restriction periods should not exceed 24 h for feedlot animals in situations of severe water shortage.

Use of bean meal (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in goat rations for meat production.

Bean meal (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) may be a viable alternative in ruminant feeding, mainly as a source of protein due to its high crude protein content. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of substitution of cottonseed cake (Gossypium hirsutum) with different levels of bean meal in goat feedlot rations on dry matter intake, digestibility, feeding behavior, performance, carcass characteristics, and hematological parameters. Twenty castrated male Repartida goats with an average initial weight of 14.7 ± 2.0 kg were allocated in a randomized block design with four treatments. The initial body weight was used to define the blocks. The treatments were different substitution levels of cottonseed cake by bean meal (0, 27.75, 64.63, and 100%) in the concentrate on a dry matter basis. The diets had a roughage:concentrate ratio of 50:50. Chopped elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was used as roughage, while the concentrate was composed of ground corn, mineral mix, and different levels of bean meal and cottonseed cake. There were no treatment effects on dry matter intake, feed conversion, slaughter weight, carcass weight and yield, non-carcass component yield, and hematological parameters (P > 0.05). However, for both dry matter digestibility (P = 0.001) and daily weight gain (P < 0.001), there was a negative quadratic relationship between cottonseed cake and bean meal content in the diet. Bean meal can be used in goat diets to replace cottonseed cake as the only source of protein concentrate, since it did not affect the main performance characteristics.

Intake, digestibility, growth performance, and enteric methane emission of Brazilian semiarid non-descript breed goats fed diets with different forage to concentrate ratios.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the intake, digestibility, growth performance, and enteric methane emissions of Brazilian semiarid non-descript breed goats (NDG) fed diets with different forage:concentrate ratios (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80) on a dry matter basis. Forty uncastrated male NDG with an average initial body weight of 13.3 kg ± 4.7 kg were distributed in a completely randomized design, with five treatments and eight replications. Ground Tifton-85 hay was used as forage and ground corn and soybean meal were used as concentrate. The sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique was used to measure methane emissions. The intake of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and ether extract increased linearly while the intake of neutral detergent fiber decreased linearly as the concentrate proportion increased (P < 0.05). The digestibility of dry matter and organic matter increased while the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber decreased as the concentrate level increased (P < 0.05). There were linear increases in final body weight, total weight gain, average daily gain, and feed efficiency (P < 0.0001). Methane emissions per unit of body weight (ranging from 1.9 to 0.5 g/kg), metabolic body weight (ranging from 3.9 to 1.2 g/kg), and dry matter intake (ranging from 58.8 to 21.9 g/kg) reduced linearly as the concentrate proportion increased (P < 0.01). Decreasing the forage to concentrate ratio in the diet decreased methane emission and increased growth performance of NDG. The 80:20 ratio could be considered more appropriate to reduce methane emissions from NDG, which did not change much at higher levels of concentrate.