Replacing corn with ground or pelleted citrus pulp in diets of Nellore heifers

Abstract

SUMMARY Citrus pulp can replace corn in feedlot diets in order to decrease metabolic problems by reducing formation of lactate ruminal. However, while eating, animals can easily select against pelleted citrus pulp due to the greater particle size of the pellet. Therefore, grinding citrus pulp pellet can be an alternative to decrease particle selectivity. This study was realized to evaluate the replacement of ground corn by pelleted citrus pulp and ground citrus pulp on animal performance, sorting index, and feeding behavior of Nellore heifers. Thirty-six Nellore heifers were randomly assigned to three treatments: control diet based on ground corn (GC), partial replacement of GC by ground citrus pulp (GCP), and partial replacement of GC by pelleted citrus pulp (PCP). . Heifers fed with the GC diet had higher final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and dry matter intake (DMI) compared with heifers fed with citrus pulp (P < 0.05). Ground citrus pulp increased DMI and fiber intake compared with the PCP group (P < 0.05). Heifers fed with PCP and GCP sorted for diet particles from 8 to 19 mm and selected particles with less than 1.18 mm (P < 0.05). Thus, the ground citrus pulp is better than pelleted citrus pulp due to higher feed intake and ADG, in consequence of lower selection index.