Níveis de gordura inerte de palma na ração para cabritos – avaliação de desempenho produtivo e comportamento ingestivo

Abstract

Fat sources represent an important component in ruminant feed, as they provide 2.25 times more energy than carbohydrates, and new sources, such as inert fats from rumen degradation, are a good option due to their fatty acid profile. The objective was to evaluate the performance and ingestive behavior of goats fed increasing levels of inert palm fat in the diet. Sixteen goats were used, distributed in an entirely randomized design, dairy crossbred, entire males, with initial ages of 60 days and 18.66 kg of live weight. The experiment was conducted in an entirely randomized design with repeated measures in time, with four treatments: 0, 25, 50 and 75 grams of inert palm fat per head and four repetitions per treatment. Dry matter (DM), mineral matter (MML) and organic matter (OML) intake was evaluated, and morphometric measurements of treatments and periods were compared by regression study (P<0.05). The evaluations of weight gain were done weekly and the biometric measures, ECC and evaluation of ingestive behavior, fortnightly until the end of the experiment, which lasted 60 days. Only the treatment with the lowest inclusion of inert palm fat kept the DMC below the recommended by the NRC (2007). There was no statistical difference (P>0.05) for average daily gain, weight gain, biometric variables and ingestive behavior as palm inert fat was included in the diet of goats. For the presented ECC data it is noted that it was significant (P<0.05) and increasing keeping within the range for the category. Therefore, it is noted that the use of inert palm fat supplied at different levels did not promote deleterious changes in dry matter intake, morphometric measurements and ingestive behavior.