Feeding behavior and performance of sheep fed cactus pear in substitution of corn

Abstract

-The objective of this study was to evaluate the feeding behavior and performance of Santa Ines sheep subjected to different levels of substitution of corn by cactus pear in the diet. Forty-five non-castrated male Santa Inês sheep with initial live weight of 27.50±0.48 kg were distributed in a completely randomized design with five treatments (0, 70, 140, 210 and 280 g/kg DM) and nine replicates. Dry matter and neutral detergent fiber intakes showed quadratic behavior. Times spent eating, ruminating and total ruminating chews showed increasing linear behavior, while the idle time decreased with increasing amounts of dietary cactus. The feeding efficiency (g DM/h) increased linearly, while differences in rumination efficiency of the DM (g DM/h); NDF intake efficiency (g NDF/h) and NDF rumination efficiency (g NDF/h) were not significant. There was no significant effect for the number of ruminated boli and number of ruminating chews per bolus. The number of chews per day increased linearly. These results indicate that cactus pear in substitution of corn had no influence on the feeding behavior of feedlot sheep.

Nutritive and Chemical Composition and In Vitro Digestibility of Cladodes of the Opuntia Species

“…The average TDN content in our study was 67.56% (Table 3). This is comparable to the reported 69.3% TDN content in cactus pear silage [45,55], 61% in cactus cladodes and 70.87% in O. ficusindica [56]. Ref.…”

Effect of Prickly Pear Cactus Peel Supplementation on Milk Production, Nutrient Digestibility and Rumen Fermentation of Sheep and the Maternal Effects on Growth and Physiological Performance of Suckling Offspring

“…Moreover, PPCP also has several biological activities, including anti-hyperlipidemic, hypercholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral actions [24]. Commonly, the PPCP has been used as a dietary alternative feedstuff for animal feeds, including the partial replacement of grains such as corn [25,26] or barley [18]. However, the knowledge regarding the use of PPCP as a potential feed supplement in small ruminant diets due to its high content of phytochemicals is still lacking.…”

Divergence in nutrient concentration, in vitro degradation and gas production potential of spineless cactus genotypes selected for insect resistance

“…In general, cactus is characterized by a low CP concentration. Average values of 39 g/kg and 58 g/kg have been reported by Costa et al (2013) and Abidi et al (2009), respectively. However, higher CP values were reported by Batista et al (2003 a , b) (60–77 g/kg) for several cactus cultivars from north-eastern Brazil, and Ayadi et al (2009) showed CP concentration of 88 g/kg in cladodes of Tunisian O. ficus indica .…”

“…This characteristic of low NDF and ADF concentrations is associated with high non-structural carbohydrate concentration, making the spineless cactus a valuable source of fermentable carbohydrates for ruminants. On average, cactus TC concentration ranged from 62 to 84 g/kg DM, while NFC range from 31 to 58 g/kg DM (Tegegne et al , 2007; Costa et al , 2013; Tosto et al , 2015). Results from the current study were within these ranges.…”