pH ruminal e concentração de amônia em ovinos alimentados com triguilho em substituição ao milho

Abstract

Sheep farming has sought to increase meat production by investing in intensifying the production system, improving animal performance and minimizing production costs. The main source of energy of the rations comes from cereal grains, especially corn. It is sought alternative sources for corn replacement, such as wheat byproduct, the corn which has a higher protein value when compared to maize. Of fiber and lower in relation to energy. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of the substitution of corn on the ruminal fermentation in lambs, analyzing the pH and ruminal ammonia concentration at different times after the supply of diets with levels of inclusion of threesome. Four male sheep, castrated and fistulated in the rumen were used, with a mean live weight of 40 kg. These animals were kept in metabolic cages with drinking fountains and individual feeders fed with 40% azevedo hay and 60% concentrate. The treatments were composed of 0, 19, 38 and 57% of wheat in the dry matter of the total ration, instead of maize. The experimental period totaled 80 days, with 15 days of adaptation and 1 day of collection of ruminal liquid, used to determine pH of ammonia nitrogen . The experimental design used was lan square (4x4), with four levels of substitution and four periods. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the effect of level of inclusion of the harness analyzed by regression, with the help of the SAS software. No significant difference was observed in the concentration of ammonia nitrogen and ruminal fluid pH (P> 0.05) for the inclusion levels of wheat in the diet (0, 19, 38 and 57%), however there was a difference (P <0.05) between the hours after feeding. The use of wheat in sheep concentrate does not affect the concentration of ammonia nitrogen and ruminal pH, and may be used during off-season or high corn prices.