Borba Pereira Pedro Henrique, de Oliveira Juliana Silva, Guerra Ricardo Romão, da Conceição Ângela Imperiano, Magalhães André Luiz Rodrigues, de Andrade Silva Dulciene Karla, Bispo Safira Valença, Dias Geane Gonçalves, de Almeida Araújo Cleyton, de Lima Valença Roberta, Cardoso Daniel Barros, de Melo Airon Aparecido Silva
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brazil.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2025 Jun 11;57(5):260. doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04502-8.
This study evaluated the effects of replacing corn with forage cactus in high-concentrate diets for lambs. We aimed that observe the performance, renal function, blood profile, and histomorphometry characteristics of feedlot lambs. Two experiments were conducted with non-castrated Santa Inês lambs, with average body weights of 19.0 ± 2.5 kg and 32.2 ± 5.1, respectively, and a mean age of 120 days. The lambs were assigned to four treatments with increasing levels of corn and forage cactus (0, 250, 500, and 750 g/kg dry matter) in a randomized block design and completely randomized design. Higher concentrations of forage cactus in high non-fibrous carbohydrate diets compromised intake and apparent digestibility (P < 0.05), and reduced final body weight (P = 0.001). However, hydric balance improved with increased levels of forage cactus in the diet (P < 0.05). Changes in renal physiology included increased urine volume (P = 0.001), urinary pH (P = 0.001), and phosphorus excretion (P = 0.001). Blood metabolites related to energy and protein metabolism showed variations, and diets containing either forage cactus or corn grain modified the width of ruminal papillae and keratinized layers (P < 0.05), causing edema in rumen tissue. In summary, forage cactus can be included at up to 250 g/kg in feedlot lambs' diets, effectively supporting performance and providing a sustainable feeding strategy for Semi-arid regions, where water efficiency is essential.
本研究评估了在羔羊高浓度日粮中用饲用仙人掌替代玉米的效果。我们旨在观察育肥羔羊的生产性能、肾功能、血液指标和组织形态学特征。对未阉割的圣伊内斯羔羊进行了两项试验，其平均体重分别为19.0±2.5千克和32.2±5.1千克，平均年龄为120天。采用随机区组设计和完全随机设计，将羔羊分为四个处理组，分别添加不同水平的玉米和饲用仙人掌（0、250、500和750克/千克干物质）。高非纤维碳水化合物日粮中较高浓度的饲用仙人掌会降低采食量和表观消化率（P<0.05），并降低最终体重（P = 0.001）。然而，日粮中饲用仙人掌水平的提高改善了水平衡（P<0.05）。肾脏生理变化包括尿量增加（P = 0.001）、尿液pH值升高（P = 0.001）和磷排泄增加（P = 0.001）。与能量和蛋白质代谢相关的血液代谢物出现了变化，含有饲用仙人掌或玉米粒的日粮改变了瘤胃乳头和角质化层的宽度（P<0.05），导致瘤胃组织水肿。总之，在育肥羔羊日粮中，饲用仙人掌的添加量可达250克/千克，能有效支持生产性能，并为半干旱地区提供一种可持续的饲养策略，在该地区水分利用效率至关重要。
