Intake and digestibility of concentrate and legume hay diets fed to foals

Abstract

-This study was carried out to evaluate intake, nutrient digestibility and body weight gain of foals on diets of concentrate and legume hay. Treatments were: lucerne hay (Medicago sativa), Campo Grande stylo hay (20% Stylosanthes macrocephala and 80% Stylosanthes capitata) and Mineirão stylo hay (Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Mineirão). Fifteen weaned foals at 160 Kg body weight (BW) were used. The experiment was entirely randomized with three treatments and five replicates.Dry matter intake was estimated at 30 g of dry matter (DM)/kg BW and was comprised of 40% concentrate meal and 60% hay. Fecal production and nutrient digestibility were calculated by the LIPE ® marker methodology. There was no difference between Lucerne hay and Campo Grande stylo hay intake, but intake of Mineirão stylo hay was lower than that of Lucerne hay. Body weight gain and nutrient digestibility coefficients were similar for foals fed different diets. Intake was similar for Campo Grande and Lucerne hay, and led to similar body weight gain in diets with concentrate. Mineirão stylo hay, at 137 days of growth, was not palatable for the foals.

Body development of weaned foals of Mangalarga Marchador breed fed probiotics or phytase supplemented diets

“…In this sense, the negative influence of diet energy and protein deficiency on foal growth cannot be overcomed by supplementation. If in this study, the addition of other forage types with higher nutritional value, such as lucerne or other tropical legumes (Silva et al, 2012) had been used, normal foal development should have been observed during the dry season.…”