-The objective of this study was to evaluate the mobilization of nutrients in goats of different gestation types and pregnancy stages. Forty-four Saanen and Oberhasli goats were studied. The goats of each breed and gestation type (single or twin) were slaughtered at different gestational ages (80, 110, and 140 days of pregnancy), forming a completely randomized design in a 2 × 3 × 2 factorial arrangement (two breeds, three gestational ages, and two types of pregnancy). The slaughter procedure involved separating the empty body, mammary glands, uterus with membranes and fetal fluid, and fetus(es). For the females slaughtered at 140 days of pregnancy, blood was collected to analyze metabolites and hormones every 15 days during gestation. The dry matter (DM) intake was lower in goats with twin pregnancies. The relative daily retention rate of the nutrients in the body was positive at 100 days of pregnancy but became negative at 140 days (-0.18±0.25 g DM kg -1 of maternal body d -1) and did not differ with breed or number of fetuses. Fetal growth in twin pregnancies was 66% higher than in single pregnancies. The highest levels of ß-hydroxybutyrate and non-esterified fatty acids were observed beginning at 100 days of gestation. Serum total protein and albumin levels decreased after 125 days of gestation. Serum urea levels were reduced after 80 days of gestation. Plasma 17ß-estradiol levels increased with the advance of pregnancy, and IGF-1 was highest between 60 and 80 days of gestation. The maternal metabolism throughout pregnancy does not vary with the type of pregnancy, and pregnant goats need greater nutritional intake during the final third of the gestational period regardless of the breed or type of pregnancy.

Objetivou-se neste trabalho estudar a substituição parcial (70%) do milho moído pela casca de soja ou pelo farelo de gérmen de milho em dietas contendo farelo de girassol e uréia (fontes nitrogenadas) e silagem de milho (volumoso) para novilhos Nelore em confinamento. Avaliaram-se o consumo, o ganho de peso, a conversão alimentar e o rendimento de carcaça de 21 animais (25 meses de idade e peso inicial de 343 kg) alimentados com as dietas-teste, fornecidas na proporção 60:40 volumoso:concentrado. O período de avaliação do consumo e do ganho de peso foi de 97 dias. Os consumos de MS (10,78; 9,73 e 10,62 kg/dia), PB (1,40; 1,22 e 1,41 kg/dia) e FDN (3,41; 3,89 e 3,60 kg/dia) não foram influenciados pelas dietas com milho moído, casca de soja e farelo de gérmen de milho, respectivamente. O consumo de FDA (0,56; 0,71 e 0,55% PV) apresentou efeito significativo, observando-se maior valor quando a casca de soja substituiu 70% do milho moído. O ganho de peso não foi influenciado pelas dietas, registrando-se valores de 1,35; 1,29 e 1,32 kg/dia para as dietas contendo milho moído, casca de soja e farelo de gérmen de milho, respectivamente. Não houve efeito, também, sobre a conversão alimentar (7,88 kg de MS ingerida/kg ganho), a eficiência alimentar (0,12 kg ganho/kg MS ingerida) e o rendimento de carcaça (54,52%). A substituição parcial do milho moído pela casca de soja e pelo farelo de gérmen de milho em dietas para novilhos em confinamento não afeta o desempenho e o rendimento de carcaça.

-This study was carried out to to evaluate how feed restriction and different forage:concentrate ratios affect digestibility, methane emission (using the SF 6 technique), and energy utilization of Anglo-Nubian goats. Fifteen (15) dry and non-pregnant Anglo Nubian goats, averaging 30±2.9 kg body weight, were used. The experiment was divided into two trials, the first of which was designed to study the effects of feed restriction (0% or ad libitum; 15% of feed restriction or equivalent to 85% of ad libitum intake; and 40% of feed restriction or equivalent to 60% of ad libitum intake) and the second, to study the effects of forage:concentrate (F:C) ratios (75:25, 54:46, and 25:75) in the diet. The sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) tracer gas method was used to collect and estimate methane (CH 4 ) emissions. Feed restriction level did not affect apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber. Methane emission (g d −1 ) decreased linearly as intake level decreased. However, energy loss in methane proportional to organic matter intake was similar among levels of feed restriction; consequently, dietary metabolizability did not differ among treatments. Methane gas (g d −1 ) as a function of F:C ratio revealed a quadratic response, showing the highest values when animals were fed the 46:54 F:C ratio diet (18.2 g d −1 ), suggesting that the decrease in absolute CH 4 occurred when the level of concentrate inclusion in the diet surpassed approximately 50%. The results presented herein may be relevant for the ongoing and future efforts towards completion of an IPCC inventory regarding the contribution of goats to the greenhouse gas effects on the planet.

No abstract

The objective of this study was to develop statistical models to predict empty body weight (EBW) by body weight (BW), testing the influence of sex (females, intact males or castrated males), type of diet (suckling or postweaning), and genotype (Saanen, ½ Boer × ½ Saanen, ¾ Boer × ¼ Saanen, and Indigenous goats). Individual records of 311 goats combined from 10 studies, with BW ranging from 4.3 to 47.4 kg were used. The EBW was computed as the BW at slaughter minus the weight of the contents of the digestive tract, urinary bladder, and biliary vesicle. Linear regression analyses were performed to develop the models, considering sex, type of diet, and genotype as fixed effects and random effect of study. CONTRAST statements were used to conduct all pairwise comparisons of fixed effects and all the statistical analyses were performed using SAS. The present study revealed that sex did not affect both intercept (P = 0.53) and slope (P = 0.19). On the other hand, the EBW prediction was affected by type of diet (P < 0.01), and genotype (P = 0.02). Therefore, were proposed different equations to predict EBW from BW for suckling and post-weaning Saanen goats, where gastrointestinal tract content (g/kg EBW) in suckling goat kids increased as they grew, oppositely it remained slightly constant in postweaning goats. The effect of genotype on the EBW:BW relationship was tested considering only post-weaning goats, and one equation was proposed for each genotype. In general, gastrointestinal tract content (g/kg EBW) decreased as goat kids grew in all genotypes but Indigenous goats. The results also highlighted different gastrointestinal relative capacity between genotypes. The development of these equations would enable producers and researchers to predict the animal EBW, and develop strategic plans in a goat herd.