Desempenho e características de carcaça de cordeiros terminados com níveis de palma miúda em substituição ao feno de tifton

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the effect of substitution of Tifton hay for forage cactus on performance and carcass characteristics of Santa Inês lambs. We used 24 lambs, aged non-castrated male and weights approximately 119 ± 29.89 days and 14.64 ± 2.28 kg respectively, submitted to four levels of feeding forage cactus cultivate Miúda (Nopallea cochenillifera Salm Dyck) in the diet (0, 6.5, 16.63 and 35.10% in replacement of Tifton-85 hay (Cynodon dactylon). the animals were placed under confinement for 89 days in a randomized block design with four treatments and six repetitions. after this period, the animals were slaughtered at an average weight of 28.89 kg. Our results showed that there was no effect (P less than or equal to 0.01) in the diet on dry matter intake was expressed in ways that, on water consumption which was expressed in the forms, weight gain, feed efficiency, hot carcass weights and cold carcass yield and biological hot and cold, the weights of neck, shoulder, leg, loin and rib, the incomes of loin and rib cuts, capacity and a second body, the loin eye area, fat thickness, carcass compactness index, body measurements and carcass and non-constituent components of the carcass blood, skin, fat legs, respiratory reproductive tract, where these variables rose linearly as palm was included in the diet of animals. the study indicates that up to 35.30% of palm can be included in the diet of sheep in confinement, and can keep the meat production and decrease production costs in the Northeast.