&lt;b&gt;Feeding behavior of dairy cows fed different levels of xiquexique (&lt;i&gt;Pilosocereus gounellei&lt;/i&gt;)

Rafael Nogueira Furtado,Emilson Costa Moreira Filho,Maria Socorro De Souza Carneiro,Eranildo Brasil Da Silva,Elzânia Sales Pereira

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v38i4.31595

<b>Feeding behavior of dairy cows fed different levels of xiquexique (<i>Pilosocereus gounellei</i>)

Rafael Nogueira Furtado, Emilson Costa Moreira Filho + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v38i4.31595

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Abstract

This study evaluated the replacement of Tifton hay with xiquexique (0, 12, 24 and 36%) on feeding behavior of lactating dairy cows. To this end, eight cows with average milk production of 15 kg milk day-1 and average body weight of 465.2 ± 39.4 kg were distributed in a double 4x4 Latin square. Each experimental period lasted 16 days, ten for adaptation and six for data collection. The record of behavioral variables was made every five min. for 24 hours. The times spent in feeding, ruminating and total chewing, expressed in hours day-1, as well as feeding (FE) and rumination (RE) efficiencies, expressed in g NDF h-1, the number of cuds and cud chews per day showed a linear decrease according to the levels of xiquexique in the diet. There was a linear increase in time in idleness. Xiquexique levels in the diet for dairy cows did not influence FE and RE, expressed in g DM h-1, number and time spent in chewing per cud. The replacement of Tifton hay with xiquexique in the diet alters the feeding behavior of dairy cows due to the reduction in fiber content.

Highlights

The use of native cacti in ruminant feeding in arid and semiarid regions around the world is a practice carried out by many farmers during critical periods of the year, when forage stocks are low
Times spent in feeding (FT) and ruminating (RT), expressed in h day-1, showed a linear decrease (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of xiquexique (Pilosocereus gounellei) in the diet (Table 3). This can be explained by the reduction in neutral detergent fiber content in (NDF) in diets with increasing xiquexique levels
A similar result was reported by Souza et al (2016), who observed a reduction in RT and FT with decline in NDF content in diets for sheep

Summary

Introduction

The use of native cacti in ruminant feeding in arid and semiarid regions around the world is a practice carried out by many farmers during critical periods of the year, when forage stocks are low. This study evaluated the feeding behavior of dairy cows fed diets containing four different levels of replacement of Tifton hay with xiquexique.

Results

Conclusion