Intake by lambs finished in confinement with concentrate containing mesquite pod meal levels replacement maize

This study aimed to evaluate the least square means for the intake of dry matter and nutrients in Dorper x Santa In?s lambs finished in feedlot with concentrated supplements containing corn replacement levels by mesquite meal (MM) in natural matter (NM) and cactus meal dehydrated. The experiment was conducted at the Research Center of Goats and Sheeps in Semi-arid (RCGSS) belonging to the Palmares Farm, located in the county of Ia?u. The experimental period was 65 days, divided into 4 periods of 15 days each and 5 days of data collection in each period. The experimental design was completely randomized, with five treatments and five replications, lambs supplemented with the protein, went to the confinement eating the concentrate containing 35% of the mesquite meal (MM) replacing the corn, constituting one of the five treatments. The feedlot diets were composed of 60% of the concentrate and 40% of the cactus meal dehydrated (Opuntia sp.). The diets were balanced for weight gain of 0,150 kg/day, formulated to be isonitrogenous. The samples of cactus and supplements were pre-dried in a forced ventilation oven at 65?C and then minced with a 1.0 mm sieve. Then they were placed in identified containers to determinate the dry matter (DM), in the cactus samples and supplements, were determined the DM, BP, EE and MM. The study of the effect of corn replacement levels by mesquite meal was performed by regression analysis. Despite of the lower body weight at the beginning of the confinement phase, the lambs stemmed of the protein supplementation, that was fed with the supplement containing 35% of MM. These animals consumed more (OM) and BP per kg of metabolic body weight (P<0,05), during the confinement, to supply the requirements during the compensatory gain. The dry matter intake was influenced by the MM levels in the diets, being observed increasing linear effect for this variable.