Ruminal dynamics, nutrients degradability and digestibility, and infrared thermography during adaptation to high-energy diets of cannulated Nellore cattle previously submitted to either nutritional restriction or intake of concentrate feedstuffs

• Grant number: 16/02173-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Danilo Domingues Millen
• Grantee: Gustavo Perina Bertoldi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study will be to evaluate the microbial protein production, pH and ruminal dynamics, total tract digestibility and rumen degradability of nutrients, feed particles sorting via Penn State Particle Separator and feeding behavior of feedlot cannulated Nellore cattle submitted to either previous nutritional restriction or previous intake of concentrate feedstuffs before the beginning of the period of adaptation to high concentrate diets. It will be adopted the experimental design in two 3 x 3 Latin squares, which will be used 6 20 mo-old Nelore steers, with about 350 kg and cannulated in the rumen. The treatments differ only with respect to the established type of diet before the start of the adaptation period: Maintenance (forage ad libitum + mineral supplement; control); Restriction (forage restricted to 1.4% of body weight + mineral supplement) and Concentrate (forage ad libitum + 0.5% of the live weight of concentrated ingredients + mineral supplement). The duration of this study will be 110 days, divided into three experimental periods (33 days each period) and two washout intervals (7 days each). Each period will be divided as follows: 14 days of pre-adaptation, 6 days of adaptation 1, 6 days of adaptation 2 and 7 days of finishing diet (72%, 79% and 88% concentrate, respectively). It will also be evaluated the temperature of different parts of the body of the animal based on thermography pictures, which will be correlated to ruminal fermentation patters to eventually identify rumen digestive disorders in feedlot cattle. Thus, it will be possible to investigate if either nutritional restriction or intake of concentrate feedstuffs prior to start the adaptation period to high-concentrate diets alter the ruminal dynamics and nutrients metabolism in confined Nellore cattle during the transition to the finishing diet and which may result in recommendations from different periods to adapt to each situation to be studied in this project. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BERTOLDI, Gustavo Perina. Efeito de diferentes tipos de dietas no período de pré-adaptação sobre o comportamento ingestivo e aproveitamento de nutrientes em bovinos Nelore. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Dracena Dracena.