Spineless cactus as a replacement for sugarcane in the diets of finishing lambs

Abstract

The effects of replacement of sugarcane by spineless cactus (0, 33, 66, and 100 % on dry matter (DM) basis) were evaluated on intake, digestibility of nutrients, ingestive behavior, and performance of finishing lambs. Thirty-six non-castrated Santa Ines lambs at 4 months of age and an initial body weight of 22 ± 2.3 kg were assigned in a randomized block design. A quadratic effect was found for intake of DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and digestible organic matter (DOM), with maximum values of 1.31, 1.19, 0.219, 0.358, and 0.845 g/day estimated with 42.5, 38.5, 38.8, 21.3, and 44.9 % replacement level, respectively. The digestibility of DM, OM, CP, and EE increased linearly; however, there was a quadratic effect on NDF digestibility with maximum value estimated of 500 g/kg with 64.2 % replacement level. Rumination time, total chewing, and rumination efficiency decreased linearly with the replacement levels; however, idle time increased linearly. A quadratic effect was found for final weight, body weight gain, and total weight gain with maximum values estimated of 38.6 kg, 0.232 kg/day, and 16.2 kg with 39.1, 38.2, and 40.4 % replacing levels. The replacement of 49.5 % sugarcane by spineless cactus can be recommended as optimal level, and problems related to intake, digestibility, and performance are concentrated outside that level.

Spineless cactus associated with Tifton hay or sugarcane bagasse may replace corn silage in sheep diets

“…Coordinates a* (redness); b* (yellowness) and L* (lightness). The presence of the asterisk is arbitrary, and usually used in this case Oliveira et al (2017) evaluated the sugarcane replacement by spineless cactus and observed that with 33% of spineless cactus, the average daily gain was 0.24 kg/day and the feed conversion was 5.6, which are close to the results observed in the present study.…”

Optimizing the use of spineless cactus in the finishing diet of lambs: physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics of meat

“…who concluded that the spineless cactus is a food alternative in semi‐arid regions, replacing up to 800 g kg −1 of wheat bran in sheep diet without affecting the DM intake. Current daily BW gains (ranging from 206 to 225 g per day) were similar to those noticed by de Oliveira et al . who reported values ranging from 205 to 243 g per day for 330 and 660 g kg −1 replacing levels, respectively.…”

“…The effects on carcass and meat quality from lambs fed finishing diets containing spineless cactus replacing other roughages such as sugarcane or wheat bran have been previously studied. In addition, recently, Ribeiro et al .…”

“…This cactus, besides contributing to the food supply during the dry season, has a high potential for forage production and a good nutritional value and may contribute to the water supply for animals . It has been reported that the replacement of sugarcane by spineless cactus in the finishing diets is recommended for lambs, improving most of the carcass characteristics . In addition, the inclusion of spineless cactus in the finishing diets for sheep affected the FA profile, decreasing the saturated FA content and improving the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA amounts .…”

“…[13][14][15] It has been reported that the replacement of sugarcane by spineless cactus in the finishing diets is recommended for lambs, improving most of the carcass characteristics. 13,15,16 In addition, the inclusion of spineless cactus in the finishing diets for sheep affected the FA profile, decreasing the saturated FA content and improving the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA amounts. 17 However, data about the influence of including spineless cactus in the finishing diets of lambs on meat quality is scarce.…”