Protozoários ruminais em cordeiros alimentados com diferentes inclusões de silagem de milho com feijão guandu

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the protozoan population present in the rumen of lambs fed different concentrations of corn silage with pigeon pea. The study was conducted at the Teaching and Research Unit (UNEPE) on sheep at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), Dois Vizinhos campus. Sixteen intact male lambs, with an average age of 6 months, initial live weight of 25 ± 3.7 kg, and final weight of 40 ± 3 kg, were used over a period of 3 months. The experimental design was completely randomized with 4 treatments and 4 replicates. Four treatments were used at different inclusion levels, with treatment 1: 100% corn silage; treatment 2: 33.5% pigeon pea + 66.5% corn silage; The third treatment consisted of 66.5% pigeon pea + 33.5% corn silage, and the last was 100% pigeon pea. Samples of rumen contents were collected after slaughter. Classification and quantification were performed in a laboratory setting, where a 2 mL fraction of the collected sample was mixed with Lugol's solution for staining and glycerol. A Sedgewick-Rafter counting chamber adapted for optical microscopy was used with 1 mL of the diluted sample. Eleven genera of ciliates were observed, with Diplodinium and Entodinium showing the highest population density. The pH remained within the normal range, at 7.1, favorable for the viability of the ciliate genera. There was no statistically significant difference between the genera, however, on average, it was observed that as the inclusion of pigeon pea increased, the protozoan population decreased.