Different doses of sodium monensin on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics and digestibility of Nellore cattle

Murillo Ceola Stefano Pereira,Cassiele Aparecida De Oliveira,Mário De Beni Arrigoni,Danilo Domingues Millen,Ricardo Velludo Gomes De Soutello,André Luiz Nagatani Rigueiro

doi:10.4025/actascitechnol.v41i1.34988

Murillo Ceola Stefano Pereira, Cassiele Aparecida De Oliveira + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascitechnol.v41i1.34988

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different doses of sodium monensin on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics and nutrient digestibility of Nellore cattle. The experiment was designed as a completely randomized block, replicated 12 times, in which 60 20-months old yearling Nellore bulls (402.52 ± 33.02 kg) were fed in individual pens for 84 days according to the different doses of monensin expressed in ppm (dry matter basis): 0, 9, 18, 27 and 36. As doses of monensin increased, final body weight, average daily gain, gain-to-feed ratio, and dressing percentage were affected cubically (P < 0.03), where animals fed 9 ppm of monensin presented greater average daily gain and better gain-to-feed ratio. Likewise, as dose of monensin increased, dry matter intake, hot carcass weight, and neutral detergent fiber and fecal starch digestibility in finishing period decreased linearly (P < 0.05). In addition, neutral detergent fiber digestibility in adaptation period in creased linearly (P = 0.01) as doses of monensin increased. Thus, based on the results of this study, if monens in is going to be included in finishing diets for feedlot Nellore cattle, the dose of 9 ppm should be considered as the most feasible option.

Highlights

Ionophores, such as sodium monensin (MON), are among the most studied feed additives for ruminant diets
Studies to evaluate the efficacy of MON on feedlot cattle on gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), average daily gain (ADG) and dry matter intake (DMI) have been conducted since the 70s (Ellis et al, 2012)
The study was designed as a completely randomized block, in which animals were divided into five treatments (12 replications each) according to the dose of MON expressed in ppm, dry matter (DM) basis: 0, 9, 18, 27 and 36

Summary

Introduction

Ionophores, such as sodium monensin (MON), are among the most studied feed additives for ruminant diets. MON is the primary feed additive used in American and Brazilian feedlots (Millen, Pacheco, Arrigoni, Galyean, & Vasconcelos, 2009; Oliveira & Millen, 2014; Samuelson, Hubbert, Galyean, & Löest, 2016); the most part of the studies involving MON used the commercial product Rumensin (C36H62O11-H2O - Elanco Animal Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA). As the manufacturing process to produce MON is complex, and each company performs it in different ways, studies to test new products-containing MON are required in order to recommend the best dose for either grain-fed or grass-fed cattle. The objective of this study was to determine the best dose of a new product-containing MON (C36H61O11Na - Rumenpac, MCassab, São Paulo, state São Paulo, Brazil), on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and apparent nutrients digestibility of feedlot Nellore cattle

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