Inclusão de feno de alfafa na dieta de ovinos alimentados com silagem de gramínea temperada

Abstract

The present work has the objective of evaluating the inclusion of alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa Lam.) in the diet of sheep fed with ryegrass silage (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), on the intake and the digestibility of nutrients, as well as to evaluate the pH and ammonia in the ruminal fluid. The experiment was carried out at the Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Campus Dois Vizinhos, in the unit of Animal Metabolism, in an experimental design of Quadrado Latino, with 4 diets and 4 periods, using four castrated male sheep, with a mean live weight of 50 kg , Dorper / Santa Inês mestizos, cannulated in the rumen, and fed with ryegrass silage and different concentrations of alfalfa hay (0 (control), 15, 30 and 45%). The experimental period was 80 days, divided in four periods of 20 days, 15 days for adaptation of the animals to the diet and the facilities and five days for the collection of food, leftovers, feces, urine and ruminal liquid. The determination of the nutrients digestibility will be done by the total collection of the feces in the 5 days of evaluation, through collector bags, which after being collected will be weighed and will have 10% of their production sub-sampled for the formation of a composite sample. The consumption was determined by the difference in weight between the feed provided and the ingested by the animal, and the digestibility was calculated according to Andriguetto (2002): CD = ((nutrient ingested - nutrient excreted) / nutrient ingested) x 100. Consumption and digestibility of DM, N and NDF were not affected by alfalfa levels included in ryegrass silage. The pH was similar between the treatments and the ruminal ammonia levels were higher for the animals that received a higher proportion of alfalfa hay.