ABSTRACT Agro-industrial by-products are a great option for ruminant feeding. Alternative feedstuffs in ruminant diets are important to increase diets and reduce production costs. The present study evaluated different levels of palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) kernel cake inclusion in diets for feedlot-finished cull cows and their implications on the intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM) and nutrients, as well as animal performance. The experiment was carried out in Ribeirão do Largo, Bahía, Brazil. Thirty-six Holstein × Zebu crossbred cows were assigned to four treatments at the rate of nine cows per treatment. The animals were fed sugarcane bagasse (roughage 15%) and concentrate (85%). The treatments were no addition of palm kernel cake, 8%, 16%, or 24% palm kernel cake inclusion in the total DM diet. Palm kernel cake inclusion influenced DM and nutrient intakes, which responded quadratically. The digestibility of DM, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein showed a quadratic response and maximum digestibility at 1.67%, 5.24%, and 3.68% cake inclusion levels, respectively; values decreased thereafter. The total digestible nutrients decreased linearly based on cake inclusion levels. Treatments affected final body weight, mean daily gain, and feed conversion, which showed a quadratic response to increasing levels of the by-product in the diet and maximum values were at 11.98%, 13.07%, and 16.32% inclusion, respectively. Palm kernel cake is a viable alternative ingredient for animal biological efficiency. The 16% inclusion level in the total DM diet was the most appropriate for the finishing of cull cows in the feedlot.

Com base na importância que o tema bem-estar tem atingido atualmente buscou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar a condição de conforto térmico para os animais e trabalhadores, durante os primeiros 21 dias de vida de pintos de corte criados em galpões na região do semiárido Mineiro, local onde a temperatura média anual é em torno de 27 ºC. O trabalho foi desenvolvido em duas fases distintas (inverno e verão) em uma granja avícola localizada na cidade de Nova Porteirinha (MG). Para avaliar o conforto térmico dos animais utilizou-se o Índice de Temperatura de Globo Negro e Umidade (ITGU) e, para caracterizar o ambiente térmico para os trabalhadores, adotou-se o Índice de Bulbo Úmido e Termômetro de Globo Negro (IBUTG). De posse dos dados coletados observou-se que, independente da estação do ano, os valores de ITGU estiveram acima de 74 caracterizando condição de estresse térmico para os pintos de corte. Com relação aos trabalhadores verificou-se que a atividade de manejo da granja realizada durante o inverno, não expõe as pessoas à condição de sobrecarga térmica; entretanto, no verão os funcionários precisam, a partir das 09:00 h, adotar pausas frequentes para reestabelecimento fisiológico, com hidratação e descanso.

Given the importance that the issue wellbeing has reached today, the aim of this study was to evaluate the condition of thermal comfort for the animals and workers during the first 21 days of life of poultry reared in sheds in the region of semiarid Minas Gerais state, where the mean annual temperature is around 27 ºC. The study was conducted in two distinct phases (winter and summer) at a poultry farm in the Nova Porteirinha city (MG). To evaluate the thermal comfort of the animals, the index of Black Globe Temperature and Humidity (BGHI) was used and to characterize the thermal environment for workers, the Index of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and was adopted. The data collected revealed that regardless of season, the values were above 74 WBGT featuring heat stress condition for broiler chicks. With regard to workers, it was found that the activity of farm management conducted during the winter does not expose people to thermal overload condition, however, in the summer, from 9 am, employees need to take frequent breaks to reestablish physiologically with hydration and rest.