INTAKE, DIGESTIBILITY AND PERFORMANCE OF BEEF CATTLE RECEIVING DIETS CONTAINING UREA IN DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS

Authors

  • Odilon Gomes Pereira Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  • Viviane Glaucia de Souza Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  • Sebastião de Campos Valadares Filho Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  • Dalton Henrique Pereira Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  • Karina Guimarães Ribeiro Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  • Paulo Roberto Cecon Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Keywords:

Produção de bovinos

Abstract

Intake, apparent digestibility of nutrients, daily gain, feed conversion and the carcass yield in beef cattle receiving diets containing 0; 0.5; 1.0 e 1.5% of urea in total dry matter were evaluated. Twenty four crossed steers Holstein x Zebu (HxZ), castrated, with initial mean body weight of 290 kg were distributed in a completely randomized design. Sorghum silage was used as roughage adopting relation roughage:concentrate of 70:30 in dry matter basis. In order to determine the fecal excretion, indigestible acid detergent fiber was used as a marker. Intake and digestibility of nutrients were not influenced (P>0.05) by the proportions of urea in the diets. For intake and apparent digestibility of dry matter, mean values of 8.42 kg/day or 2.33% of BW and 64.52% were registered, respectively. Mean daily gain (1.05kg), feed conversion (8.07) and carcass yield (48.72%) were not influenced (P>0.05) by the proportions of urea in the diets. Levels of 1.5% of urea in dry matter of total diet can be used in the preparation of diets for finishing beef cattle (HxZ), without compromising intake and digestibility of nutrients and the animal performance as well.

KEY WORDS: Carcass yield, feed conversion, feedlot, sorghum silage.

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Published

2008-10-14

How to Cite

PEREIRA, Odilon Gomes; SOUZA, Viviane Glaucia de; FILHO, Sebastião de Campos Valadares; PEREIRA, Dalton Henrique; RIBEIRO, Karina Guimarães; CECON, Paulo Roberto. INTAKE, DIGESTIBILITY AND PERFORMANCE OF BEEF CATTLE RECEIVING DIETS CONTAINING UREA IN DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS. Brazilian Animal Science/ Ciência Animal Brasileira, Goiânia, v. 9, n. 3, p. 552–562, 2008. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/vet/article/view/643. Acesso em: 5 dec. 2025.

Issue

Section

Animal Production