Ingestive behavior of finishing sheep fed detoxified castor bean meal

Abstract

Castor bean crops stand out in the Northeastern Brazil for oil production, producing coproducts with potential for animal diets. Thus, this work evaluated the effect on ingestive behavior when 0, 33, 67 and 100% of detoxified castor bean meal (DCBM) were included to substitute soy bean meal in diets for sheep. The randomized blocks design was used with five sheep in each treatment. Dry matter intake and neutral detergent fiber intake were not affected (P > .05) by the inclusion of DCBM in the diet, with means of 1362.6 and 582.98 g/animal/day, respectively. Substitution of soybean meal by DCBM did not affect (P > .05) times of rumination, idle and total chewing, with averages of 181.33, 347.04 and 366.24 minute/12 h, respectively. A quadratic effect (P < .05) was found for feeding time, with minimum of 164.56 min/12 h, when 60% of DCBM was included in the diet. A quadratic effect (P < .05) was verified for eating efficiency with maximum of 4.43 g DM/minute and 2.08 g NDF/minute. Rumination efficiency in g DM and NDF/minute were not affected (P < .05), with means of 4.31 and 1.84, respectively. The substitution of soybean meal by DCBM decreases feeding time when 60% of it was used but does not influence the intake of DM and NDF, time spent in ruminating and idle, and total chewing time. The use of 60% of DCBM increases feeding efficiency of DM and NDF, and does not compromise the efficiency of rumination.