CORRELAÇÃO DO CONSUMO ALIMENTAR RESIDUAL COM CARACTERÍSTICAS DE DESEMPENHO, EFICIÊNCIA E COMPORTAMENTO ALIMENTAR EM ANIMAIS DA RAÇA GUZERÁ

Identifying efficient animals is an alternative to reduce natural resources. The objective of this study was to identify Residual Feed intake (RFI) with traits of animal performance, efficiency and feeding behavior in Guzerá cattle confined in the Intergado® system. The work was realized at Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, using 17 Guzera bulls, age between 18 to 21 months, with initial weight of 464 kg, confined for 91 days. The descriptive statistics analysis and the Pearson correlations for the traits under study were performed using statistical programs R (version 3.3.2). The difference between the minimum and maximum Permanence Time in the Trough (PTT) time was 40 minutes, with 44 visits to the trough. The animals efficiency with negative RIF consumed 123.9 kg of matter intake less than the less efficient animals, considering the total time of evaluation. The RFI came more with dry matter intake, feed convertion and PTT. The distinction between initial live weight, final live weight, average daily gain (ADG) and frequency of visits to cattle trough (VCT) was insignificant. It is concluded that the RIF does not have the ADG, VCT, but the use of this option of choice becomes more efficient than the food efficiency measurement.