DIFFERENT PROTOCOLS FOR ADAPTATION TO DIETS BASED ON WHOLE CORN GRAINS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON INTAKE AND RUMEN DEGRADABILITY OF FEEDLOT CATTLE

• Grant number: 24/16518-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Danilo Domingues Millen
• Grantee: Gabriela Fernanda Leonel Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effects of different adaptation protocols to whole grain corn-based diets on nutrient degradability. For this purpose, 6 castrated and rumen-cannulated Nellore x Angus male cattle with an average weight of 500 kg will be evaluated. The experimental design will be a 3 x 3 duplicated Latin square. Three adaptation protocols will be evaluated: 1) Control - adaptation in ladders to the conventional diet based on corn silage and ground corn grain; 2) Restriction - adaptation by quantitative restriction to a diet based on whole corn grains; and 3) Ladder - adaptation in ladders, with inclusion of corn silage only during adaptation, to the diet based on whole corn grains. The study will last 73 days, each experimental period will last 21 days, with 14 days of the adaptation phase and 7 days of the finishing phase. A washout period of 5 days will be considered between periods. Dry matter intake throughout the period and ruminal degradability of nutrients will be assessed. The data from this study will be analyzed by PROC MIXED from SAS (2003), using the Tukey test to compare means, considering a significance level of 5%.