Silagem Produzida Com e Sem Irrigação e o Óleo Essencial de Laranja Sobre o Desempenho de Cordeiros

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.9852426111

• Palavras-chave: aditivos, consumo de matéria seca, eficiência alimentar, ganho médio diários, ovinos

• Keywords: additives, dry matter intake, feed efficiency, average daily gain, sheep

• Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of confined lambs fed sorghum silage intercropped with Urochloa brizantha cv. Paiaguás grass produced in dryland or irrigated systems and the effect of supplementation with orange essential oil (OEL). Twenty-four crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês lambs with an initial weight of 34 kg and allocated to individual suspended pens were used. The lambs were weighed at the beginning and end of the experiment, and the average daily gain (ADG) was subsequently calculated. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design in a 2 × 2 factorial scheme, with factor 1: Urochloa brizantha cv. Paiaguás silage produced in dryland (SEQ) or irrigated (PIVO) systems; and factor 2: inclusion of 0 (0OEL) or 1 g OEL/kg of DM of the total diet (1OEL). Data were analyzed using SAS PROC MIXED, considering 5% significance. There was no interaction between silage type and inclusion of OEL for any of the variables evaluated. Silage types did not affect dry matter intake (DMI), however silage produced in the dryland increased ADG (SEQ = 157 g; PIVO = 120 g; P < 0.01) and feed efficiency (SEQ = 0.126; PIVO = 0.103; P = 0.01). The inclusion of OEL did not affect DMI, however, it increased ADG (0OEL: 127 g; 1OEL: 150 g; P = 0.02) and feed efficiency (0OEL: 0.107; 1OEL: 0.122; P = 0.05). It is concluded that the use of silage produced in a dryland system and/or supplementation with orange essential oil improves the performance of confined lambs.