Intake, digestibility, performance, and feeding behavior of lambs fed diets containing silages of different tropical forage species

Abstract The study evaluates the effects of including four silages of tropical forages in the diet of lambs in semi-arid region of Brazil on their intake, digestibility, production performance, and feeding behavior. Thirty-two crossbred lambs with an average age of six months and an average initial weight of 17.6 ± 2.63 kg were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design with four treatments and eight replicates. Treatments consisted of diets with four forage plant species preserved in silage form: old man saltbush ( Atriplex nummularia Lindl), buffelgrass ( Cenchrus ciliares L.), gliricidia ( Gliricidia sepium (Jacq)), and pornunca ( Manihot sp.). Each treatment was composed of a different silage, containing 50% silage and 50% of a concentrate based on corn and soybean meal. The highest (P   0.05) DM and OM intakes to those fed old man saltbush and gliricidia silages, but higher (P   0.05) digestibility coefficients of DM and neutral detergent fiber. The time expended ruminating and chewing in minutes/day was highest (P   0.05) to those fed the other silages (old man saltbush silage, gliricidia, and pornunca). The highest values (P