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The objective was to evaluate the intake and digestibility of nutrients, ingestive behavior, and performance of goats fed with spineless cactus genotypes resistant to carmine cochineal (Miúda or Orelha de Elefante Mexicana (OEM). Thirty castrated male goats, without defined breed, aged 12 to 14 months, with an average body weight of 19.0±2.8kg, were distributed in a completely randomized design among three treatments (Control - Tifton hay, Miúda, and OEM) and ten replicates; the initial weight was considered as the covariate. The intake of organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was highest in the control treatment, while the intake of NFC was higher in the OEM diet. Treatments containing forage cactus showed the highest digestibility of DM, OM, and NFC. The animals fed the control diet spent more time on rumination and total chewing, but the time spent feeding or feeding efficiency, and performance did not differ. The use of spineless cactus genotypes resistant to carmine cochineal (Miúda and Orelha de Elefante Mexicana) in a diet for goats, in the amount of 450g/kg of DM does not interfere with the performance of the animals and improves the digestibility of OM and NFC.

Grasses and legumes are two groups of plants physic and chemically different (amount of crude protein and fiber, mostly), very used in animal feed, whose differences can determine variation in intake, digestibility and animal behavior. We aimed to evaluate performance, feeding behavior and the serum biochemical profile of sheep. The treatments were four levels of substitution of Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) hay for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) hay (0, 330, 660 and 1000 g kg -1 DM). The randomized block design was used being two blocks and four treatments with 10 replicates). There were no effects on the performance of animals. On the other hand, there was a positive linear effect (P < 0.05) for intake of DM, organic matter, crude protein (CP), total carbohydrates, and non-fibrous carbohydrates. However, the use of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) showed linear decrease with the increase in alfalfa hay (P < 0.05). CP and NDF decreased linearly (P < 0.05) with the replacement of Bermuda grass hay for alfalfa hay. There were decreasing linear effects (P < 0.05) when compared to the time of ingestion and chewing of feed, and increasing linear effects regarding total resting time. Estimated passage rate, density of particles and blood glucose showed a positive linear effect (P < 0.05), while weight of gastrointestinal contents decreased according to alfalfa levels (P < 0.05). The replacement of Bermuda grass hay by alfalfa hay to promote improvement in the performance is not recommended.Key words: Behavior, digestibility, intake, legumes, Medicago sativa. ABSTRACTNutritional value, performance, feeding behavior and serum biochemical profile of sheep fed with alfalfa hay replacing Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) hay

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Concentração de ácido cianídrico na maniçoba in natura e conservada. Concentration of hydrocyanic acid in fresh and conserved maniçoba. ________________________________________________________________________________ ResumoObjetivou-se quantificar a concentração de ácido cianídrico (HCN) nos componentes morfológicos da maniçoba in natura em diferentes idades de crescimento e conservada como feno e silagem. Aos 30 dias foram encontrados os maiores valores de HCN em todos os componentes morfológicos e em todas as idades avaliadas as concentrações de HCN foram superiores na folha. Os processos de ensilagem e fenação promoveram diminuição de 67,03 e 91,15%, respectivamente, dos valores de HCN em relação à planta fresca. As folhas da maniçoba apresentam maior teor de HCN, sobretudo quando mais jovens. Os métodos de conservação de forragem reduzem a concentração de HCN na maniçoba. Palavras-chave: caatinga, feno, plantas cianogênicas, silagem, ruminantes AbstractThe objective of this study was to quantify the concentration of hydrocyanic acid (HCN) in the morphological components of fresh maniçoba at different ages of growth and conserved as hay and silage. At the 30th day, the highest HCN values were found in all morphological components and at all ages the HCN concentrations were higher in the leaf. Silage and hay processes promoted a decrease of 67.03 and 91.15%, respectively, in the HCN values in relation to the fresh plant. Maniçoba leaf have a higher HCN content, especially when younger. Forage conservation methods reduce the concentration of HCN in maniçoba.