The objective in this experiment was to determine the effects of feeding diets with canola, sunflower or castor oils on intake, nutrient apparent digestibility and ruminal constituents of crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês sheep. Four rumen-cannulated animals of 90.2±11.4 kg average body weight were assigned to a 4 × 4 latin square. Animals remained individually in cages for the metabolism assay and were fed diets containing roughage at 500 g/kg and concentrate based on ground corn and soybean meal also at 500 g/kg. No oil was added to the control diet, whereas the others had canola, sunflower or castor oils at 30 g/kg (DM basis). There was no difference for the intake of DM and nutrients, except for ether extract, which was greater when animals received oil. The digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates and neutral detergent fiber were not changed; however, the addition of oil increased the ether extract digestibility. The values of total digestible nutrients (TDN, g/kg of DM), digestible energy (DE, Mcal/kg of DM), TDN intake and DE intake also did not change with the addition of lipids. Concerning the ruminal constituents, the addition of vegetable oils reduced the concentrations of acetate, butyrate and total short-chain fatty acids. Adding canola, sunflower or castor oils at 30 g/kg in diets with 500 g roughage/kg and 500 g concentrate/kg does not impair the intake or digestibility of nutrients in sheep, although it reduces the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in the rumen.

Objetivou-se avaliar o crescimento, o desempenho e o tamanho das vísceras de cordeiros Santa Inês após ganho compensatório. Foram utilizados 22 animais de duas faixas de peso vivo inicial, leves (33,5 kg) e pesados (56,8 kg), distribuídos em três regimes alimentares: controle, com consumo à vontade; restrição alimentar, com consumo para manutenção do peso vivo; e crescimento compensatório, com restrição alimentar e posterior consumo à vontade até peso vivo semelhante ao dos animais controle, quando foram abatidos. As dietas experimentais, constituídas de feno de capim Coast-cross (Cynodon dactylon) moído e concentrado composto de farelo de soja (Glicine max L.), milho (Zea mays L.), polpa cítrica, ureia pecuária e suplemento mineral e vitamínico, atenderam às necessidades nutricionais para os diferentes objetivos. Os animais em restrição alimentar apresentaram os piores resultados de peso vivo final, consumo de matéria seca, ganho de peso, conversão alimentar e peso relativo do fígado, enquanto, naqueles em crescimento compensatório, o peso vivo final, a conversão alimentar e o peso de fígado foram semelhantes aos dos animais em crescimento contínuo. O consumo entre os animais pesados em crescimento contínuo foi superior ao daqueles mantidos nos demais regimes alimentares. No grupo de animais leves em crescimento compensatório, o ganho de peso foi maior que naqueles em crescimento contínuo e, nesses dois grupos, foi superior ao dos animais em restrição alimentar. Os animais pesados, no entanto, apresentaram ganho de peso vivo semelhante ao dos animais controle. Cordeiros podem apresentar crescimento compensatório, que depende do grau de maturidade dos animais.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the growth, performance and size of viscera of Santa Inês lambs after compensatory gain. Twenty-two animals, with two ranges of initial body weights, light (33.5 kg) and heavy (56.8 kg), were allotted to one of the three diets: control, fed ad libitum; nutritional restriction, fed to maintain body weight; and compensatory growth with feed restriction and then fed without restriction up to body weight similar to control animals, when they were slaughtered. The experimental diets, constituted of Coast-cross (Cynodon dactylon) grid hay, and a concentrate with soybean (Glicine max L.) meal, corn (Zea mays L.), citrus pulp, livestock urea and vitamin and mineral supplement met the nutritional requirements for each different objective. Animals in fed restriction showed the worst final body weight, dry matter intake, weight gain, feed conversion and relative liver weight whereas those in compensatory growth, the final body weight, feed conversion and liver weight were similar to the animals in continuous growth. Intake among heavy animals in continuous growth was superior to those kept in the other diets. For the group of light animals in compensatory growth, weight gain was greater than in those on continuous growth and, in those both groups, it was superior to animals on feed restriction. However, heavy animals showed body weight gain similar to control animals. Lambs can present compensatory growth, which depends on the maturity degree of the animals.