Desempenho produtivo de ovinos alimentados com dieta contendo farelo da vagem de faveira em substituição total ao volumoso

Abstract

Sheep farming for meat production in the Northeast region of Brazil is based on low-intensive systems, with still low productivity and advanced age at slaughter, resulting in lower financial returns for producers. Therefore, improvements and technological investments in production systems are necessary. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the productive performance of sheep fed a diet containing bean pod meal as a total replacement for Tifton-85 hay. Fourteen castrated male Santa Inês crossbred sheep, with an average initial weight of 21 ± 2.4 kg and approximately five months of age, were used. They were housed in individual 1.45 m² metal pens. Two diets were evaluated: SVF (without bean pod meal) and CVF (with bean pod meal as a total replacement for Tifton-85 hay), formulated for a daily weight gain of 200 g. The experiment lasted 60 days, with 10 days for animal adaptation to the diets and facilities and 50 days for data collection (confinement). The animals received a diet with a roughage:concentrate ratio of 30/70. The experimental design was completely randomized, with two treatments and seven replicates, with initial weight used as a covariate. Analysis of variance was performed, and when there was an effect, it was considered statistically different. The results showed that providing the diet with bean pod meal as a substitute for hay reduced dry matter intake (P=0.001), crude protein intake (P=0.004), and organic matter intake (P=0.021), but did not affect (P>0.05) the intake of other nutrients. No effect (P>0.05) was observed for the variables weight gain, feed conversion, and biometrics (body length), with average values of 195 g/d, 3.37, and 88.09 cm, respectively. An effect with higher water intake (P=0.048) was observed for the SVF diet (3.65 l/d) compared to the CVF diet (2.77 l/d). The CVF diet showed a better economic response, with a net benefit of 935.37 and a rate of return of 250.01. Due to the results presented above, it is recommended to completely replace roughage with broad bean pod meal in the diet of feedlot sheep.