Feeding behavior of lambs fed diets containing old man saltbush hay

• Autor(a) principal: Bezerra-Moreno, Greicy-Mitzi
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Borba, Hirasilva [UNESP], Leal-De-araújo, Gherman G., Alves-Cirne, Luis-Gabriel, Boaventura-Neto, Oscar, Alves-De-moraes, Salete, Pinto-De-carvalho, Gleidson-Giordano, de Lima-Júnior, Dorgival M., Dos-Santos-pina, Douglas
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.17533/UDEA.RCCP.V34N4A03; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/233825
• topic: Alternative feedstuff; Chewing; Ethology; Feed efficiency; Feedlot; Intake; Lamb; Old man saltbush; Rumination efficiency; Sheep; Weight gain

Background: We hypothesized that a diet with old man saltbush hay used as an alternative source of nutrients could partially replace the concentrate in the feeding of feedlot lambs. Objective: This study evaluated the behavior and performance of lambs fed diets containing increasing levels of old man saltbush hay plus concentrate. Methods: Twenty-four castrated Santa Inês lambs at approximately eight months of age (22 ± 1.97 kg) were confined in a randomized complete design and fed diets containing 30, 40, 50, and 60% (dry matter: DM) of old man saltbush hay. Results: The intake of DM and neutral detergent fiber was not affected (p>0.05) by the level of old man saltbush hay. Intake of mineral salt decreased (p<0.01) as the proportion of old man saltbush in the diet increased. Weight gain (kg) and feed efficiency worsened (p<0.05) with 40% inclusion of old man salt bush hay. The time spent on feeding and chewing increased (p<0.05), while idle time was reduced (p<0.01) with dietary inclusion of old man saltbush. Feed efficiency decreased (p<0.05) with the inclusion of old man saltbush. Conclusion: Dietary inclusion of old man saltbush affects the feeding behavior and performance of lambs in feedlot.