Chagas, Juana
- Federal Rural University of Pernambuco
Abstract
The aim of this study was to establish a simplified management for rearing dairy heifers evaluating different protein supplements in spineless cactus' based diets. Twenty-five Girolando heifers were used in feedlot, with initial body weight of 227±72kg, assigned to a randomized block design. Five protein supplements (wheat bran, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and whole cottonseed) were compared to the control diet (without supplement). The cottonseed meal provided higher intake of DM (8.19kg/d), and digestible OM (4.63kg/d). There were no effects of protein supplements on digestibility of DM, OM, CP and NFC. The cottonseed meal provided higher digestibility of NDF (465g/kg). Weight gain and feed conversion were not affected in animals supplemented with whole cottonseed (750g/d and 9.1), cottonseed meal (840g/d and 9.75) and soybean meal (720g/d and 10.78). Therefore, the establishment of a simplified management using any of the studied protein supplements should occur depending on the availability and price of the product in the region.
Keywords
Crossbred; Supplementation; Feeding management; Performance
Published in
Journal of dairy & veterinary sciences
2017, volume: 2, number: 3, article number: 555586
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.19080/JDVS.2017.02.555586
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/141338