<b>Mesquite pod meal associated with levels of urea on feeding sheep: nitrogen balance, plasma urea-N and ruminal parameters</b> - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v34i3.12759
Abstract
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of including urea in diets containing mesquite pod meal on nitrogen balance, plasma urea-N and ruminal parameters. Eight gelded males, with mean weight of 33.5 kg, were divided into two 4 x 4 Latin squares. Treatments consisted of following urea levels in diet: 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of total dry matter.
The diet was provided as total diet a 40:60 forage: concentrate ratio based on total diet DM. Total urine and feces were collected and nitrogen excretion was determined. Blood was collected, followed by plasma extraction and quantification of urea nitrogen. To evaluate pH and ammonia-N in rumen fluid, four rumen fistulated animals were used . Intake of N (31.68 g day-1) and losses through feces (7.94 g day-1) and urine (9.95 g day-1) did not change. The concentrations of ammonia-N and plasma urea-N increased linearly. Rumen pH was similar among treatments. The inclusion of urea does not influence the nitrogen balance, but increases the concentrations of rumen ammonia-N and urea nitrogen in plasma, which may influence energy expenditure in the body.
Downloads
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY AND COPYRIGHTS
- I Declare that current article is original and has not been submitted for publication, in part or in whole, to any other national or international journal.
The copyrights belong exclusively to the authors. Published content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) guidelines, which allows sharing (copy and distribution of the material in any medium or format) and adaptation (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, even commercially, under the terms of attribution.
Read this link for further information on how to use CC BY 4.0 properly.
