Inclusion of different levels of common-bean residue in sheep diets on nutrient intake and digestibility

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of including common-bean residue in diets for feedlot sheep on the intake and digestibility of nutrients by these animals. Sixteen intact male sheep were allotted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replicates. Treatments consisted of the inclusion of 0, 11, 22, and 33% of the common-bean residue (dry matter basis) in the experimental diets, which corresponded to the substitution levels of 0.0, 33.3, 66.7, and 100.0% of cottonseed cake for the bean residue. Data of the studied variables were subjected to analyses of variance and regression, adopting a significance level of 5%. The model was chosen based on the significance of the regression parameters, evaluated by the t test (P<0.05), and on the coefficients of determination. The levels of inclusion of the common-bean residue in the diet influenced (P<0.05) the intakes of dry matter (DM), crude protein, organic matter, ether extract, and indigestible neutral detergent fiber, expressed in g animal-1 day-1, percentage of body weight (%BW), and metabolic weight (BW0.75), which decreased linearly. However, the inclusion of the different levels of common-bean residue did not change (P>0.05) the intakes of neutral detergent fiber, non-fiber carbohydrates, or total digestible nutrients by the feedlot sheep. Every 1.0% of inclusion of the common-bean residue in the sheep diet led to a reduction of 4.93, 0.01, and 0.20 in DM intake when expressed in g animal-1 day-1, %BW, and BW0.75, respectively. Every 1.0% of inclusion of the bean residue resulted in the reduction of 2.73% in the intake of indigestible neutral detergent fiber by the feedlot sheep. Sheep displayed a linear increase (P<0.05) in water intake with the levels of common-bean residue in the experimental diets. The inclusion of 0, 11, 22, and 33% of the residue in the diet caused the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, organic matter, and neutral detergent fiber to increase linearly (P<0.05). It is concluded that the inclusion of up to 22% of commonbean residue in diets for feedlot sheep provides balanced and adequate values between the intake and digestibility of nutrients.