Performance, Body Water Balance, Ingestive Behavior and Blood Metabolites in Goats Fed with Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) Silage Subjected to An Intermittent Water Supply

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance, body water balance, ingestive behavior and blood metabolites in goats fed with cactus pear silage subjected to an intermittent water supply. Thirty-six goats were distributed in a randomized block design arranged as a 3 × 3 factorial with cactus pear silage in the goats’ diet (on a 0%, 21% and 42% dry matter-DM basis) and water offer frequency (ad libitum, and 24 and 48 h water restrictions). There was an interaction only between the cactus pear silage level and water offerings for drinking water. Goats fed 42% cactus pear silage had greater intake of non-fibrous carbohydrates, energy, Ca, Mg and Na minerals, water intake, urinary water excretion, body water retention and nutrient digestibility. Cactus pear silage inclusion up to a 42% rate reduced eating and ruminating time and increased the time spent idling as well as the eating and the ruminating efficiency rate. Water restriction at 48 h reduced drinking water intake. Performance and blood metabolites were not affected by cactus silage inclusion or water offering. Cactus pear silage inclusion at up to 42% for goats is recommended during periods of water shortage in semiarid and arid regions because it improves eating, the ruminating efficiency rate, and body water retention; cactus pear silage inclusion at this rate reduces water consumption and it does not affect the performance or health of the animals.

Effect of Feeding Frequency on Intake, Digestibility, Ingestive Behavior, Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Meat Quality of Male Feedlot Lambs

“…Several factors can affect feed intake, including the level or source of dietary fat [1,3], the use or not of by-products [37][38][39][40], the proportion of concentrate [41], and the diet supply strategy [9].…”

Carcass traits and meat quality of goats fed with cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill) silage subjected to an intermittent water supply

“…When evaluating the chemical composition of meat, no signi cant difference was observed between treatments, except the ash content, that remained above the average values found in the literature, which is 0.99 to 1.10% 31 . It is believed that because cactus pear is a rich source of Ca, Mg, K and with increasing level of cactus pear silage in the diet 32 , these minerals were consumed in larger amounts, which can have resulted in a higher proportion of minerals in the meat of animals that received 42% cactus pear silage.…”

“…Daily DM intake and gain averaged 650.67 g/day and 72.25 g/day, respectively and total water intake (drinking + feeding), total water excretion (feces + urine), and body water balance/retention had averages of 2.36; 0.87 and 1.49 respectively 32 .…”

Water restriction periods affect growth performance and nutritional status of Santa Inês sheep in the Brazilian Semi-arid

“…The search for more efficient ways of using water in animal production systems is becoming increasingly necessary, as this important nutrient has become increasingly scarce. Although small ruminants in semi-arid regions can survive up to a week with little or no water, it is proven that water deficiency affects the physiological homeostasis of animals, leading to body weight loss, low reproductive rate, and decrease in resistance to diseases (Albuquerque et al, 2020b). However, little attention has been given to water supply in production systems.…”

“…However, little attention has been given to water supply in production systems. Similarly, studies on the importance and influence of water on animal production systems in the Brazilian semi-arid region are recent and scarce (Cordova-Torres et al, 2017;Nobre et al, 2018;Albuquerque et al, 2020b;Souza et al, 2020).…”