Resumo

GODINEZ-JUAREZ, Beatriz et al. Evaluation of degradation, voluntary consumption and productive behavior of sheep fed with saccharin and corn. Ecosistemas y recur. agropecuarios [online]. 2017, vol.4, n.12, pp.431-441. ISSN 2007-901X.  https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a4n12.1207.

The objective of the study was evaluate 1 the voluntary consumption and the productive behavior of sheep fed with a diet of Saccharin with ground corn (GC), as well as ruminal degradation in situ in bovines. Voluntary feed consumption and weight gain were analyzed in 24 growing Katahdin x Pelibuey sheep, with an initial average weight of 17 ± 3.0 kg, fed with four diets (10, 20, 30 and 40 % of GC). The effective degradation (ED) of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was evaluated in two cannulated bovines at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36 hours as factor A and five levels of GC (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 %) as factor B, for which factorial distribution was used in a completely randomized design. Treatment with 10 % of GC presented the highest valúes of in situ degradation for both DM and NDF, which was related to a high level of soluble fraction and a low non-degradable fraction. Non-degradable fractions, degradation rates, and effective degradation were similar (p ≥ 0.05). Effective degradation increased from 10 % GC treatment. The bovines fed with 40 % of GC had the highest consumption during (70.7 kg) and the highest gain of weight (0.124 kg). The contribution of ground corn to the diet improved in situ degradation in bovines, consumption and weight gains of bovines.

Palavras-chave : feeding; lamb growth; effective degradation; solid fermentation; weight gain.