Desempenho e características da carcaça de cordeiros alimentados com bagaço de caju

Abstract

In order to evaluate the performance and carcass characteristics were used 14 whole lambs, fed with diets containing concentrate and sorghum silage or dehydrated cashew apple bagasse (DCAP) as source of roughage. The animals had an average initial body weight of 12 kg and were slaughtered when they reached 25 kg of live weight. We used a completely randomized design with two diets and seven replicates. The feed conversion of the group fed with DCAP (8.08 ± 0.32) was better (p<0.05) compared to sorghum silage group (15.62 ± 0.75). There was no significant effect on the parameters of in vivo performance and on the quality characteristics of the carcass of lambs fed with the two feeding plans. The lambs fed with DCAP had a cold dressing percentage higher (48.24 ± 0.73 vs. 44.05 ± 1.33) and show a greater deposition of fat in the lumbar region. In conclusion, the dehydrated cashew apple bagasse is a viable source of feed for lambs fattening, in the northeast region of Brazil.