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Increasing demands for healthy and eco-friendly products and processes concerned with animal well-being have stimulated consumer interest in pasture finishing systems for lambs (Jacques, Berthiaume, & Cinq-Marsa, 2011). This feeding system affects animal growth rate, carcass weight and yield, muscle: fat ratio, and meat lipid profile, which can reflect in sensorial characteristics such as flavor, odor, and softness (Carrasco et al., 2009). Blackburn, Snowder, and Glimp (1991) reported lower amounts of fat in the meat of exclusively pasture-raised lambs compared to animals submitted to concentrate-based diets, being an attractive attribute for consumers. However, the meat industry is interested in heavy carcasses of young animals with good musculature, providing good cut yield and a minimum fat layer to protect carcasses while in cold storage. Tropical pasture exclusive feeding, such as Brachiaria spp.

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Our hypothesis was whether the residue of seed harvest from tropical grasses (Brachiaria sp. and Panicum sp.) as roughage source might result in the similar performance of lambs confined to obtain sustainability in agricultural and food systems by use of this by-product. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of the residue of seed harvest (straw-hay) from tropical grasses as a roughage source in the feedlot lamb diet on intake, digestibility, performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality. The randomized block design used 36 lambs (six animals per treatment) distributed in six treatments arranged in individual cages on performance assay. The offered straw-hay did not influence nutrient intake and digestibility. Chewing was influenced by straw-hays. In addition, an effect was not observed on the length of the carcass, length of the leg, width and perimeter of the croup, depth of the chest or weight of the left half of the carcass. The averages of gammon, palette and neck yields were considered satisfactory, which may have been caused by the high content of neutral detergent fiber that was offered (511.4 g/Kg for Tupi and 617.6 g/Kg for Basilisk), and the weight of the palette and gammon can result in high commercial value. The meat characteristic was affected by a straw-hay. Diets containing residue of seed harvest from tropical grasses (Brachiaria sp. and Panicum sp.) as a roughage source did not have any effect on the dry matter and crude protein consumption and on the growth performance. So, we recommend the residue of seed harvest from tropical grasses as a fiber source to feedlot lamb diet.

The study evaluated the effects of dietary protein-energy supplementation on feed intake, ingestive behavior, rumen parameters and nutrient digestibility in lambs. Four castrated lambs with 31.9 kg mean body weight and fistulated rumen were tested. distributed into latin square design (4x4), four treatments were tested over four periods of time: no supplementation (control) or with supplementation at 8, 16 and 24 g kg -1 body weight. The supplement (soybean meal, soybean hulls, ground corn and minerals) was provided with roughage (Tifton Bermudagrass, Cynodon spp., hay), which was offered ad libitum once a day, at 8h00. In treatments receiving 0 (control), 8, 16 and 24 g kg -1 supplementation, dry matter intake was 685.26, 742.86, 842.51 and 1013.33 g day -1 , crude protein intake was 80.18, 95.98, 118.64, 150.14 g day -1 and metabolizable energy intake 1.55, 1.91, 2.31 and 2.98 g day -1 , respectively. Treatments receiving the highest supplementation levels spent less time with rumination and feeding and rested for longer (P < 0.05). Protein-energy supplementation level did not affect rumen parameters. Average rumen pH was 6.3 and rumen ammonia nitrogen 165 mg dL -1 ; both were affected by sampling time. Supplementation levels until 24 g kg -1 BW improves feed intake and nutrient digestibility linearly and changes ingestive behavior, lowering rumination time without affecting rumen parameters. Key words: Diet. Ammonia nitrogen. Rumen pH. Rumination. Sheep. ResumoObjetivou-se avaliar o efeito da suplementação proteico-energética sobre o consumo, comportamento ingestivo, parâmetros ruminais e digestibilidade de nutrientes em ovinos. Foram utilizados quatro cordeiros castrados, com peso médio de 31,9 kg, fistulados no rúmen. O delineamento foi quadrado latino (4x4), sendo 4 tratamentos e 4 períodos: controle (sem suplementação) e suplementados com 8, 16 e 24 g kg -1 do peso corporal (PC content intake diet, which moves slowly through the gastrointestinal tract, thereby limiting feed intake. Diets containing protein-energy supplements increase total dry matter intake, lowering roughage intake and increasing voluntary nutrient intake, which can improve performance (JOCHIMS et al., 2010). On the other hand, although supplements can attenuate nutritional deficiency arising from poor quality pastures, they may also raise production costs and even make sheep husbandry unfeasible if used in excess (VOLTOLINI et al., 2009). Accordingly, the present study evaluated protein-energy supplementation levels for lambs by assessing their ingestive behavior, rumen parameters and nutrient digestibility.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance, ingestive behavior and gastrointestinal helminths control of suckling lambs raised on pastures of Brachiaria ssp. supplemented in creep-fed and not supplemented. Thirty-one lambs being 15 lambs in the control treatment (without supplementation) and 16 lambs in the creep feeding treatment (with protein-energetic supplementation) were evaluated. Performance of lambs supplemented was superior to lambs no-supplemented. Lambs without supplemented had weaning age of 81 days and an average gain of 194 grams. Lambs supplemented showed weaning age of 58 days and average daily gain of 268 grams. eggs per gram of stool (EPG) count in the control treatment was 4553, while in the creep feeding treatment the mean was 763. The morbidity rate caused by gastrointestinal helminths in the control treatment was 6.6% and there was no morbidity due to helminths in the treatment creep feeding. The morbidity rate due to hepatogenic intoxication was 46.6% in control and 12.5% in the lambs supplemented. The ingestion of protein-energy supplementation in creep feeding promoted an increase in productive performance of lambs, as well as increased resistance and tolerance to gastrointestinal infections and decreased cases of hepatogenic intoxication by ingestion of Brachiaria spp.