Effects of essential oil or sodiun monensin on feedlot performance, feeding behavior, rumen health and carcass traits of Nellore cattle

• Grant number: 15/11927-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Danilo Domingues Millen
• Grantee: Alan Carlos Barboza Melo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/11115-1 - Effects of feed-grade live yeast on growth performance, carcass characteristics and nutrient digestibility of finishing beef cattle, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

The objective of this study will be to evaluate the effects of essential oil or monensin on feedlot performance, feeding behavior, rumen health and carcass traits of Nellore cattle. The treatments will be disposed as follows: Control (with no additives); Monensin (with 30 ppm of monensin), Essential Oil (with 500 ppm of essential oils) and Monensin + Essential Oil (30 ppm and 500 ppm respectively). It will be used 96 Nellore yearling bulls, with approximately 370 kg of body weight. Cattle will be blocked by weight, and randomly distributed in 24 pens, which will be considered the experimental unit. In the beginning of the trial and every 28 days all animals will be weighed. Dry matter intake will be measured every day, and then calculating the average daily gain and gain to feed ratio. Similarly, the animals will undergo ultrasound assessments at the beginning and end of the feedlot period to evaluate the deposition of muscle and fat in the carcass and slaughtered at a commercial packing. Will also be assessed in this project as response variables: 1) feeding behavior and ration of selectivity; 2) dry matter intake fluctuation; 3) morphology and histology of rumen epithelium; 4) incidence of rumenitis and liver abscesses; and 5) carcass traits. (AU)