Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective with this study was to evaluate intake, feeding behavior, rumen fluid characteristics, performance, and nutrient digestibility of sheep fed banana pseudostem hay (BPH) with and without virginiamycin (VM). Thirty-two uncastrated male crossbred Dorper × Santa Ines lambs at approximately five months of age, with an average initial body weight of 25.00±1.95 kg, were used in the experiment. Four diets were tested, as follows: Tifton grass hay (TGH) plus concentrate with VM; BPH replacing 60% of TGH plus [...]
Highlights
Sheep farming is a segment of great importance in the Brazilian agricultural sector
Virginiamycin does not change the performance or nutritional parameters of these animals when Tifton grass hay is used as the only roughage source
Considering the above-described facts, the present study proposes to evaluate intake, performance, digestibility, feeding behavior, and rumen fluid characteristics of sheep fed banana pseudostem hay (BPH) and Tifton grass hay with and without VM
Summary
Sheep farming is a segment of great importance in the Brazilian agricultural sector. This is especially true for family agriculture and for the semiarid region of the northeast part of the country, where the activity is carried out with low use of technologies and with long production cycles. Banana (Musa sp.) is one of the main fruit species grown in Brazil and widely present in the northeastern semiarid region, where it is cultivated under irrigation. The crop generates large amounts of waste during its harvesting and other cultivation practices. This waste can be used in the feeding of ruminants as roughage source
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