EFFECT OF FERMENTED FEED BASED ON SUGAR CANE (Saccharum spp.) ON WEIGHT CHANGE OF GRAZING CATTLE

Abstract

The effect of Saccha-polishing (fermented feed in the solid stage based on sugar cane and rice polishing), with different levels of beef fat on the weight change of young grazing beef bulls in finalization, was evaluated. Twenty-seven young beef bulls were used with initial live weights of 357.3±25.1 kg, distributed randomly in three treatments with nine repetitions. The treatments (T) were: T1: Grass+Saccha-polishing, T2: T1+100 g of beef fat and T3: T1+200 g of beef fat. The supplement was offered daily in the amount of 7 g MS kg^-1 of live weight in individual pens, then, all animals came out to graze on the same pasture. The animals without fasting were weighed for three consecutive days at the beginning of the experiment and later, every 30 days. A completely random design was used with repeated measures in time. The initial weight was used as covariable, and no differences were found in the consumption of the supplement (2.13, 2.10 and 2.05 kg of MS animal day^-1 for T1, T2 and T3, respectively), or in the daily weight gain (DWG) (1.03, 1.04 and 1.02 kg animal day^-1 for T1, T2 and T3, respectively). The DWGs are within the highest values reported by other studies using different supplements, highlighting that the source of food based on Saccha-polishing can be used to supplement cattle nutrition with grazing, without the addition of beef fat.