ABSTRACT The objective was to determine the optimal dehydrated passion fruit pulp replacing ground corn in diets for goat kids. We used 24 crossbred castrated goat kids with initial body weight of 26.6±0.3 kg. The experimental period was 23 days, with 15 days of adjustment and acclimatization (mostly to the installation and diet). Kids were distributed in a randomized experimental design with four treatments of 0, 80, 160, or 240 g/kg of dehydrated passion fruit residue as a supplementary inclusion in the dry matter (DM) content of the diet. The statistical model considered the fixed effect of the included amount of residue from dehydrated passion fruit. Analysis of variance was conducted using the PROC GLM of SAS. Intakes of DM and total digestible nutrients (TDN) were not affected by residue inclusion. However, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake increased linearly. The inclusion linearly decreased intake of ether extract (EE) and non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC). Crude protein (CP) intake was quadratically affected, with a greater value under treatment of 160 g/kg passion fruit. Dry matter and NFC digestibility decreased linearly with the amount of passion fruit included in diet. Fecal N and total N excretion values (in g/d and %N intake) increased linearly. Nitrogen balance and N retained values showed a quadratic increase, with greater values under the 160 g/kg inclusion. Time spent ruminating, DM and NDF eating efficiency, and g DM/bolus chewed were affected quadratically by inclusion of passion fruit residue. The replacement of ground corn with dehydrated passion fruit residue at a level of 160 g/kg is recommended for diets of goat kids to improve their NDF and CP intake and their N balance without affecting DM and TDN intakes.

RESUMO Objetivou-se determinar o impacto da inclusão datorta de licuri na dieta de cordeiros em terminação, mestiços de Santa Inês, com base na analise econômica.Utilizou-se 44 cordeiros, não-castrados, vacinados e vermifugados, com média de seis meses de idade e peso corporal médio de 21,2 kg ± 2,7 Kg. Os cordeiros foram alimentados com 40% feno de Tifton-85 e 60% de uma mistura concentrada composta por grão de milho moído, farelo de soja, premix mineral e inclusão de torta de licuri nos níveis 0; 8; 16 e 24% com base na matéria seca em substituição ao farelo de soja egrão de milho moído, com esses níveis constituindo os tratamentos, utilizando-se 11 cordeiros por tratamento em delineamento inteiramente casualizado. Os animais foram confinados por 70 dias. O menor custo operacional e consequente maior lucratividade quando se incluiu a torta de licuri até o nível de 24%. No entanto, a decisão de seu emprego na alimentação de cordeiros vai depender de seu custo no momento da utilização, considerando as possíveis variações de preços dos ingredientes utilizados para formulação das dietas e modelode produção da propriedade rural.

SUMMARY The present study endeavors to determine the impact of the inclusion of licuri tart in the diet of finishing lambs, Santa Inês mestizos, by evaluating the economic parameters. For this purpose, a total of 44 lambs, including both uncastrated as well as vaccinated and wormed lambs, with an average age of six months and a mean body weight of 21.2 kg ± 2.7 kg, were employed. Initially, the lambs were fed on the diet which consisted of 40% Tifton-85 hay and 60% of a concentrated mixture, mainly composed of ground corn grain, soybean meal, mineral premix, being further followed by the inclusion of the licuri cake at four different levels (a) 0.0, (b) 8.0,(c) 16.0, and (d) 24% with respect to the dry matter. Principally, the soybean meal and milled corn were replaced by the licuri cake with these levels, thereby constituting four treatments and 11 replicates (11 lambs per treatment) in a completely randomized design. Further, for subjecting the lambs to the above mentioned four different levels of treatment, the lambs were confined for 70 days. The analysis of various economic parameters revealed that upon including the licuri cake up to the level of 24%, the operation cost decreases, which in turn results in higher profitability. However, its cost at the time of use will eventually determine its use for feeding lambs, because of the possible price variations of the ingredients used to formulate the diets along with the model of production of the rural property.

The intake of the dry matter (DM), the crude protein (CP) and the metabolizable energy intake (ME) in megacalories per day (Mcal/day) were not affected by the diets. In contrast, the intake of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), in g/kg BW, increased linearly. An increasing linear effect was also observed for the ether extract (EE) intake, whereas a decreasing linear performance was observed for the non-fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) intake. The digestibility of DM, organic matter and NFC decreased linearly with the sunflower cake inclusion, whereas the digestibility of CP, NDF, and EE were not influenced by the diets. No effect was observed for the concentration of serum glucose or urea nitrogen serum. No effect was observed on the urea nitrogen serum in the hours after feeding; however, including sunflower cake in the diets resulted in a quadratic performance for the serum glucose concentrations in the hours after feeding. The average daily gain (ADG) had a decreasing linear effect, and the food conversions of the DM, CP, NDF, NFC and ME had increasing linear effects. The feeding costs decreased with the level of sunflower cake.