The effect of the replacement of corn silage with spineless cactus associated with Tifton 85 hay or sugarcane bagasse was evaluated on the performance, body weight components and sheep meat quality. Twenty-one Santa Inês male sheep with initial body weight of 22.9 ± 2.9 kg were used. They were confined in individual stalls for 74 days receiving the following diets: corn silage + concentrate (CS); spineless cactus + Tifton 85 hay + concentrate (TH); spineless cactus + sugarcane bagasse + concentrate (SB). After the feedlot period, the animals were slaughtered and their body components were weighed and sampled. Data were submitted to Tukey's test at 5% probability. The average daily gain (0.25 vs 0.14 kg), cold carcass weight (13.3 vs 13.7 kg), loin muscularity (0.6 vs 0.4 kg) and liver weight (0.7 vs. 0.5 kg) were higher (P < 0.05) for the TH diet when compared to that for the CS. The physical-chemical parameters of meat were not influenced (P > 0.05) by the treatments and presented about 20.1% of crude protein, 6.1% of crude fat and shear force of 2.0 kgf/cm. In complete diets for sheep, Tifton 85 hay associated with spineless cactus provides greater weight gain, cold carcass muscularity and organ weight when compared to those for animals fed with corn silage as exclusive roughage. Sugarcane bagasse associated with spineless cactus may replace corn silage in complete diets for sheep.

RESUMO-Objetivou-se avaliar a predição de consumo de matéria seca (CMS) pelos sistemas CNCPS 5.0, NRC e BR-CORTE, bem como o consumo de nutrientes por tourinhos zebuínos confinados. Foram utilizados 44 animais em delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, sendo: 19 Nelore PO, 7 Nelore LA, 10 Tabapuã PO e 8 Guzerá PO, com peso vivo inicial médio de 394 ± 39; 348 ± 33; 346 ± 28 e 340 ± 30 kg, respectivamente, e idade inicial média de 13 meses. O período experimental foi de 84 dias. O consumo alimentar individual foi obtido com o uso dos indicadores LIPE®, óxido crômico e fibra em detergente ácido indigestível (FDAi). Para comparação do CMS predito pelos sistemas com o observado utilizouse análise de regressão linear. Os animais Nelore LA apresentaram os menores valores observados para CMS (kg d-1). Ao avaliar o CMS em porcentagem do peso vivo (%PV) e em gramas por quilo de peso vivo metabólico (g kg-1 PM), foi detectada diferença entre os grupos genéticos, sendo que os maiores valores ocorreram para os animais Tabapuã PO e Guzerá PO. Os sistemas NRC, CNCPS 5.0 e o BR-CORTE apresentaram subpredição do CMS. Conclui-se que os sistemas estudados não se mostraram adequados para predizer o consumo de matéria seca em tourinhos zebuínos confinados. Palavras-chave: Alimentação dos animais. Guzerá (Zebu). Nelore (Zebu). Tabapuã (Zebu).

RESUMO:Milhares de pessoas utilizam a carroça tracionada por equídeos como meio de trabalho ou suplementação de renda no âmbito mundial. Poucas são as pesquisas envolvendo a caracterização biométrica dos animais e as medidas dos equipamentos de atrelagem, buscando classificar os equídeos pela capacidade de tração, propondo discussões cientificamente embasadas acerca da capacidade de carga por animal, consequentemente diminuindo os maus tratos e dimensionando o trabalho de forma proporcional e coerente. Objetivou-se determinar parâmetros zoométricos ligados a ezoognósia, caracterizando tipologia e medidas relacionadas à veículos de atrelagem de 234 equídeos de tração no município de Arapiraca-Alagoas, Brasil. Foram obtidas medidas morfoestruturais lineares e perimetrais, calculando-se os índices zoométricos: índice corporal, peso estimado, índice dáctilo-torácico, índice de carga a passo e índice de carga a galope. Os dados foram submetidos a uma análise de variância e teste de médias (Skott-Knott a 5% de probabilidade). Os muares representaram 76% (179) dos animais estudados, os equinos 21% (49) e os asininos 3% (6). Em todas as medidas morfoestruturais e índices zoométricos, com exceção do índice corporal onde os asininos apresentaram a maior média, verifica-se diferença (P<0,05) entre as espécies com os equinos sempre apresentando maiores valores, seguidos pelos muares e asininos. Não há adequação em relação às medidas das atrelagens, verificando-se diferença estatística (P<0,05) apenas para os veículos tracionados por asininos. Os equinos e muares utilizados por condutores de carroças são classificados como equídeos de pequeno porte, com propensão à tração leve. Palavras-chave: carroça; equídeos urbanos; índices; medidas BIOMETRIC STANDARD, WAGON MEASURES AND LOAD INDEX OF URBAN CART EQUIDS OF ARAPIRACA CITY, ALAGOASABSTRACT: Thousands of people use the cart pulled by horses as a means of work or supplemental income in the world. But there are few studies involving the animal biometric characterization and wagon measures, seeking classify equids for traction capacity and propose scientifically sound discussions about the load capacity per animal, thus reducing maltreatment. The aim of this paper was to determine the zoometric standard, typology and wagon measures of the 234 cart equids from Arapiraca city, Alagoas state, Brazil. Morphostructural linear and perimeter measurements were obtained, calculating the zoometric indexes: body index, estimated weight, dactyl-thoracic index, work walking index and work galloping index. The variables were subjected to analysis of variance and means test (Skott-Knott 5% probability). The mules represented 76% (179) of the animals, horses 21% (49) and donkeys 3% (6). In all measurements and indexes studied, except where the donkeys body index had the highest average, there is a statistical difference (P <0.05) between species with the highest values always with horses, mules and followed by donkeys. There are no adequate in relation to the wagon measures, verifying differen...

-The objective of this study was to study the animal reactivity and correlate it with performance and meat quality of cattle finished in feedlots. A total of 20 animals of the Tabapuã breed and 20 animals of the Nellore breed were confined for 112 days: 28 days of adaptation and 84 days of data collection. Performance was determined by the average daily weight gain (ADG) and average dry matter intake (DMI) estimated through the use of indicators. On the 1 st , 42 nd and 84 th days of the experiment, two methods were used to measure the animal reactivity: animal reactivity in mobile cage and visual reactivity during handling. The characteristics of meat quality were evaluated by the color, shear force and pH24 after slaughter (pH24). Through the study of correlation, the degree and direction of linear association on animal reactivity, performance and meat quality were established. Regression equations were generated for the parameters evaluated according to the values of animal reactivity. Correlations between mobile cage and visual reactivity were 0.77, 0.56 and 0.45 in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd evaluations, respectively. There was no correlation between animal reactivity and DMI. The correlations between ADG, pH24, and color with animal reactivity were -0.31, 0.40, 0.47 and -0.34, and -0.33 for mobile cage, 0.74, 0.71 and -0.51, for visual reactivity, respectively. The parameters of meat quality varied according to the reactivity. Undesirable values of pH24, animal reactivity and color were found when mobile cage reactivity was higher than 780, 590 and 540, respectively. In general, animals that show greater reactivity tend to have lower daily weight gain and lower meat quality. The reactivity can be used in animal breeding programs, in order to improve performance and meat quality of Zebu cattle finished in feedlot.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the total or partial replacement of Tifton 85 hay (TH) by cassava foliage hay (CH) and/or spineless cactus (SC) on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of confined lambs. Thirty-five Dorper x Santa Inês crossbred lambs were used, with an initial average weight of 16.0 ± 1.9 kg, fed with five treatment diets: 70% TH, 70% CH, 35% TH + 35% CH, 35% TH + 35% SC, and 35% CH + 35% SC. After 90 days of confinement, the animals were slaughtered and the carcass and meat data were compared using the Tukey test at 5%. The partial replacement of TH by SC increased the cold carcass weight by 3.9 kg (p < .05). The proportion of fat (%) increased (p < .05) when TH was replaced by CH + SC. The intensity of red (a*) was lower (p < .05