Silagem de sorgo como alternativa de volumoso para potras Mangalarga Marchador desmamadas no período da seca

Abstract

Animal feeding is a crucial point for the development of horse breeding in Brazil. There are periods with low amount of food and is important to get knowledge of alternative food to feed the animals in this period. Main theme of this study is to compare the use of sorghum silage with hay grass of the genus Cynodon, as an alternative to bulky for supplementation of foals during the dry period. In Chapter 1 is described a review of literature on issues related to the topic of research. In experiment 1, described in Chapter 2, the objective was to evaluate the digestibility, fecal production and dry intake of 12 fillies Mangalarga Marchador (MM) with 8 months of age fed with grass hay Vaquero (F) or sorghum silage (S). At the end of the trial period was also compared the external indicator of digestibility LIPE® with the data obtained with the technique of the total collection of feces. Its possible to infer that the sorghum silage has provided satisfactory results when compared to the grass hay vaquero and can be used in the diet of fillies weaned. However, due to its low consumption, because if used for an extended period of time may harm the development of these animals. LIPE® can be used to verify the apparent digestibility of nutrients in the diet in the fillies MM. In experiment 2, described in Chapter 3, aimed to compare the body development and health of fillies MM fed sorghum silage or hay grass vaquero for a period of 84 days for evaluate the growth were measured the height at the withers, croup, body length, chest and shins girth, the side and empty subexternal. For assessment of serum biochemistry were analyzed the blood concentrations of urea, creatinine, total protein, gamma-glutamiltransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, glucose, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. The parameters were evaluated in the first day of the trial period and every 21 days. The supply of silage of sorghum as an alternative to bulky for fillies of 6 to 9 months of age, receiving 1.5% PV in concentrated (17% CP) in the diet during the dry period, did not affect negatively the body development and health of animals.