Laudí Cunha Leite

Diferentes balanços catiônicos-aniônicos da dieta em vacas da raça holandesa

The objective of the present experiment was to evaluate the effect of three different dietary levels of cation-anion balance (DCAB) (+122.1; -8.8; and -110.4 mEq/kg DM) offered for four weeks to groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the plasma levels of ionized calcium (iCa) and total calcium (tCa), the incidence of subclinic hypocalcemia and the urine pH. Twenty-one Holstein cows were assigned to a split plot in time design with seven replications; DCAB was effects in the main plot, and sampling period was effects in the subplot. Plasma samples were collected from the jugular vein at the beginning of treatment and until 12 hours, 1, 2, 3 and 7 days after calf birth (sampling periods 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively). Urine samples were taken weekly from the beginning of treatment until delivery and were grouped, for the analysis, in three periods. Period 1 is the initiation of the treatment, period 2 extends from 11 to 20 days prepartum, and period 3 extends from 10 days before until the day of delivery. Incidence of subclinic hypocalcemia did not differ between groups. There was no significant effect of treatment or of the interaction between treatment and sampling period on the plasma levels of iCa or tCa, but there was a significant difference on those levels for the sampling period. The lowest levels of both iCa (3.974 mg/dL) and tCa (7.52 mg/dL) were observed at the day of delivery. Urine pH varied significantly among treatments, sampling period and their interaction. Group 3 showed the lowest pH value at sampling period 2 (7.238) compared to period 1 (8.094) and to group 1 (8.045) for the same period. Feeding an anionic diet, by the inclusion of anionic salts to the concentrate feed, had no effect on plasma concentrations of iCa and tCa, reduced urine pH and did not prevent the occurrence of subclinic hypocalcemia.

Production, composition and fatty acid profile of milk and butter texture of dairy cows fed ground or pelleted concentrate with sunflower and/or lignosulfonate

The objective of this study was to evaluate the milk production, composition, milk fatty acid profile, butter texture and blood parameters of Holstein cows fed corn silage and concentrate containing one of the following: ground sunflower seeds; ground sunflower seeds treated with 50 g of lignosulfonate/kg of sunflower dry matter; pelleted sunflower seeds; or ground sunflower seeds pelleted and treated with 50 g of lignosulfonate/kg of sunflower dry matter. Four lactating cows were used, each with 130±28 days in lactation and a body weight of 569±63 kg. These animals were distributed in a Latin square design with four periods of 21 days each, with 14 days of adaptation and seven days of data collection. The diets were formulated to meet nutritional requirements and had a forage:concentrate ratio of 60:40. The milk fat was lower in the pelleted treatments. The concentrations of 16:1 n-11 and trans18:1 n-9 in the milk increased, and the n-6:n-3 ratio was higher for the pelleted treatments. The firmness and adhesiveness of the butter and the blood parameters analyzed were not affected by the treatments. Addition of lignosulfonate is not effective in protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids from the ruminal biohydrogenation process, and the pelleting process has little effect on the milk fatty acid profile and can not change the butter texture.

Intake, digestibility and ruminal parameters of dairy cows fed pelleted diets and treated with lignosulfonate-containing sunflower seeds

The objective of this study was to evaluate intake, in vitro and apparent digestibility and ruminal parameters of Holstein cows that were confined and fed corn silage and concentrate containing: ground sunflower seeds (GS); ground sunflower seeds treated with 5% lignosulfonate (GSL); pelleted sunflower seeds (PS); or ground and pelleted sunflower seeds treated with lignosulfonate (PSL). Four lactating cows with 130±28 days of lactation and body weights of 569±63 kg were used. These animals were distributed in a Latin square design with four diets and four periods of 21 days each. There were no differences in the intakes (% body weight) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), mineral matter (MM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) or acid detergent fiber (ADF). The apparent digestibility of DM, OM, CP, EE, NDF, ADF and NFC were similar for all the diets, with a tendency towards decreased CP digestibility for all the pelleted diets (65.79%) compared with the non-pelleted diets (69.66%). A negative effect of lignosulfonate was observed for the in vitro digestibility (IVD) of DM, and a negative tendency was observed for the IVD of OM. Pelleting decreased the concentration of acetic acid (55.95 × 58.82 mM) in rumen fluid. There was no effect of diet on pH (6.17) or ammonia nitrogen concentration (18.19 mg/dL). Pelleting and lignosulfonate do not promote the protective effect of sunflower seed nutrients as expected, and it may be more feasible to provide ground sunflower seed.

The Use of Castor Meal, a by-Product of the Biodiesel Industry, in a Beef Production System in Tropical Pastures

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of castor meal, a by-product of the biodiesel industry, on growth performance and feeding behavior of heifers in a pasture production system in Northeast Brazil. Forty Holstein × Zebu crossbred heifers with an initial body weight of 257±26 kg were kept on a Brachiaria decumbens pasture under continuous grazing. The experiment lasted 140 days and was conducted in a completly randomized design with five levels of replacement of soybean meal with castor meal (0, 200, 500, 750, and 1000 g/kg of dry matter) in the supplements. Intake, digestibility, feeding behavior, performance, and carcass characteristics were evaluated. The total intakes of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), organic matter (OM), ether extract, and total digestible nutrients (TDN) decreased as the castor meal levels were increased. The digestibility coefficients of DM, CP, OM, and TDN decreased as the levels of castor meal in the supplement were increased. The castor meal levels in the supplement did not affect final body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion, hot carcass weight, or carcass dressing of the heifers. The use of supplements containing up to 1000 g/kg DM castor meal replacing soybean meal reduced the DM intake but did not change the average daily gain and feed efficiency of the heifers. Thus, the use of castor meal is a recommendable strategy to reduce production costs in a beef cattle grazing system.

Consumo e digestibilidade de nutrientes em ovinos alimentados com sal forrageiro de faveleira (Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus)

This study evaluated the intake and apparent digestibility of nutrients by sheep fed with fodder salt with faveleira (Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus), with increasing levels of sodium chloride in the preparation. Twenty five sheep, mongrel, not castrated, placed in individual cages, and distributed in a completely randomized design with five treatments and five replicates. Diets were offered the will containing 1, 3, 5 and 7% sodium chloride in the fodder salt. All animals also received grounded Tifton-85 hay (Cynodon sp) as basal diet abundant, and water abundant. All Diets were offered twice a day. Increasing levels of sodium chloride no fodder salt faveleira provided differences (P<0.05) on intake and apparent digestibility of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, crude protein, ether extract, total digestible nutrients and non-fibrous carbohydrates, when compared to the control treatment. It is recommended maximum to include up to 3% of sodium chloride in the composition of forage salt faveleira, for providing improved intake of dry matter. All tested levels provided improvement inteke of crude protein, ether extract, and non-fiber carbohydrates and also improved the apparent digestibility of all parameters when compared to the control treatment, however, the level of 1% inclusion of sodium chloride in the fodder salt faveleira showed better digestibility.