Impact of increased bean residue levels on the feed efficiency and ingestive behaviour of sheep

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of including common-bean residue in diets for feedlot sheep on feed efficiency and on ingestive behaviour of sheep. Treatments consisted of the inclusion of 0.0%, 11%, 22% and 33% of the common-bean residue (dry matter basis) in the experimental diets, which corresponded to the substitution levels of 0.0%, 33.3%, 66.7%, and 100.0% of cottonseed cake for the beanresidue. The inclusion of common bean residue did not change (P > 0.05) the NDF intake by the sheep, whose mean values were 358.37 g animal-1 day-1, 1.07% BW, and 14.81 g kg-1 BW0.75. There was a linear decreasing effect (P < 0.05) for the total chewing time, with a reduction to 94.48 min day-1 at the maximum inclusion level (33%) of bean residue in the diet, in relation to the treatment without this by-product (280.17 min day-1). A decreasing linear effect (P < 0.05) was observed for the number of ruminatedboluses per day, where it reduced by 0.66 percentage units for each 1% inclusion of the bean residue. Bean processing residue can be substituted for cottonseed cake in the concentrate fed to sheep, at levels of up to 33%.