Replacing corn with ground or pelleted citrus pulp in diets of Nellore heifers
2020
Citrus pulp can replace corn in feedlot diets in order to decrease metabolic problems by
reducing formation of lactate ruminal. However, while eating, animals can easily select
against pelleted citrus pulp due to the greater particle size of the pellet. Therefore,
grinding citrus pulp pellet can be an alternative to decrease particle selectivity. This study
was realized to evaluate the replacement of ground corn by pelleted citrus pulp and
ground citrus pulp on animal performance, sorting index, and feeding behavior of Nellore
heifers. Thirty-six Nellore heifers were randomly assigned to three treatments: control
diet based on ground corn (GC), partial replacement of GC by ground citrus pulp (GCP),
and partial replacement of GC by pelleted citrus pulp (PCP). . Heifers fed with the GC
diet had higher final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and dry matter intake
(DMI) compared with heifers fed with citrus pulp (P < 0.05). Ground citrus pulp
increased DMI and fiber intake compared with the PCP group (P < 0.05). Heifers fed with
PCP and GCP sorted for diet particles from 8 to 19 mm and selected particles with less
than 1.18 mm (P < 0.05). Thus, the ground citrus pulp is better than pelleted citrus pulp
due to higher feed intake and ADG, in consequence of lower selection index.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
26
References
0
Citations
NaN
KQI