Abstract
ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of replacing corn silage with sugarcane in the diet of lactating Saanen goats and to determine their intake and digestibility of nutrients, ingestive behavior, milk yield and composition. The experimental diets were composed of increasing levels (0, 33, 66 and 100%) of substitution in dry matter (DM). Twelve multiparous Saanen goats, with an average body weight of 45.2kg, average milk yield of 3.0kg day-1, distributed in a triple latin square experimental design (4 × 4) were used. The dry matter intake (DMI) and other nutrients were estimated through the difference between the total nutrient in the food offered and its total in the leftovers. The DMI, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and total digestible nutrients were not influenced, but the apparent digestibility of DM and NDF decreased. Feeding time and feeding efficiency were not influenced, the rumination and total chewing times increased, and the leisure time decreased, both linearly. Milk yield was not influenced by substitution levels, but corrected milk yield to 3.5% fat decreased. Sugar cane represents a dietary alternative for goats with medium milk yield in critical periods of forage, since it does not change the consumption of DM and milk yield, even with the apparent declining digestibility of some nutrients, influencing the ingestive behavior of the animals.
Highlights
For dairy goat breeding the quality of forage is of fundamental importance, as it affects the intake of animals and the apparent digestibility of food, reflecting in the production, and in the commercialization of milk and its derivatives
The apparent digestibility coefficient of the FDA was influenced in a quadratic way (P=0,0053) by the levels of substitution of corn silage for sugarcane, and the substitution of 14% provided a maximum digestibility of 21.5%
This may be associated with the processing of roughage in the forage machine, which reduced the size of its particles and favored the attack of ruminal bacteria, regardless of the treatment, since the diets were supplied in the form of a complete mixture, and as the roughage was moist, this possibly facilitated the junction of food and its ingestion, making animal selection difficult
Summary
For dairy goat breeding the quality of forage is of fundamental importance, as it affects the intake of animals and the apparent digestibility of food, reflecting in the production, and in the commercialization of milk and its derivatives. The structural nature of the neutral detergent fiber is able to inhibit the action of microbial enzymes in the rumen, resulting in a negative correlation between the digestibility and the intake of dry matter (Mcallister and Ribeiro et al, 2016). Nocek and Russel (1988) highlighted the importance of the synchronism between a readily digestible carbohydrate source and the nitrogen available in the rumen, as essential for microbial growth and stimulating the production process. This condition directly influences the ingestive behavior of the animals due to the time spent on feeding, rumination and leisure
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