Forage cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica mill) meal in replacement of corn: 1. apparent digestibility of nutrients

[摘要] - This work was carried out to evaluate the intake and apparent digestibility of nutrients in the diet with four replacement levels of corn (0, 25, 50 and 75%) by forage cactus meal. Sixteen lambs, averaging 30 months age and live weight (LW) of 40 kg, were allotted to a completely randomized experimental design. There was no effect of levels of replacement on the intake of nutrients, that were restricted at 2.5% of LW. There was no effect of levels of replacement on the coefficients of apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent fiber, total carbohydrates, ether extract and crude protein. The coefficient of apparent digestibility of acid detergent fiber linearly increased with the replacement of corn by forage cactus meal.

[学科分类] 兽医学

[关键词] concentrate;digestibility;forage cactus;sheep    Introdução Na criação de ruminantes;a alimentação é responsável por grande parte dos custos (60 a 70%);sejam estes animais confinados ou criados extensivamente (Martins et al