Dry matter and protein degradabilities of whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal through nylon bags in situ technique with steers

Abstract

Crude protein (CP) and dry matter (DM) degradabilities of a) whole cottonseed meal; b) broken whole cottonseed meal, were evaluated with three rumen fistulated crossbred heifers (Bostaurus x Bos indicus) in a randomized block design, with four replicates. The animals were fed sugar cane as roughage and concentrate containing with cottonseed meal (0.3 kg), whole cottonseed (0.6 kg) and corn (1.6 kg). The average rates of DM degradability with 48 of incubation time were higher (p<0.01) for cottonseed meal (62.3%) followed by broken whole cottonseed (57.1%) and whole cottonseed (22.1%). CP degradability rates were also higher (p<0.01) for cottonseed meal (93.5%), followed by broken whole cottonseed (82.5%) and whole cottonseed (18.3%).