Comportamento ingestivo diurno e desempenho de bezerros bubalinos

Abstract

The creation of buffalo in Brazil today is not as widespread, perhaps for cultural reasons or even lack of marketing on its derivatives. The behavior and control of welfare activity that can lead to profit or loss for the producer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feeding behavior and performance of buffalo calves with the shadow and water immersion. The survey was conducted on a property in the city of Cruzeiro do Iguaçu, Paraná located in the Southwest region. They used ten buffalo calves of about four months. The weighings made at intervals of 28 days. The behavioral assessments were performed once a month for three months in the period from seven to nineteen hours, with observations at ten minute intervals. The variables were grazing (P), idle standing (OE), lying idle (OD), ruminating on foot (RE), ruminating lying (RD), drinking water (BA), the trough (C), the search for shade or water for immersion is counted from the time when the animal is in the shade or in water until the time comes. Registered average weight gain of 0.84 kg showing the roughness of the species that even without supply and pasture quality obtained satisfactory gains with behavioral analysis can be seen that there has been a great demand of the animals by left and water immersion that coincided in the hottest hours of the day, it may be noted that older animals had a preference for bathing, while the younger ones were in the shade and so the older animals leave the water to graze or go to shadow the newest far into the water. Buffalo calves have good weight gains until weaning. Grazing is the behavior most accomplished close to the period of weaning.