The aim of the present experiment was to evaluate the feeding value of ground not toasted soybean hulls (size = 2.38 mm, GSH), for ruminants. This investigation, consisted of a conventional in vivo digestion trial 28 days using sheep as amodel. Twenty-three animals castrated males with a 32.4kg average body weight (BW), individually lodged in metabolic cages and alloted in five treatments (T) of five animals each (except T4), were used in a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatments tested were the following: T1 = 100% triturated rice straw (TRS), T2 = 75% TRS + 25% GSH, ^ = 50% TRS + 50% GSH, T4 = 25% TRS + 75% GSH, and T5 = 100% GSH. The GSH used in this experiment had, 94.74% organic matter (OM), 15.67% crude protein (CP), 33.82% crude fiber (CF), 1.65% ether extract (EE), and 43.60% nitrogenfree extract (NFE) with basis on dry matter (DM, 89.19%). There was verified, through analysis of regression, a highly significant ascending linear effect (P < 0.01) while GSH substituted TRS in the treatments with relation to percentage obtained for total digestive nutriente (TDN) and the apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of DM (ADCDM), of OM (ADCOM), of CP (ADCCP), of EE (ADCEE), and of NFE (ADCNFE); however there were not verified any significant effects of the treatments in relation to ADC of CF (ADCCF). The GSH presented 65.39% ADCDM, 68.28% ADCCF and 67.05% TDN, when it was the only feed (T5). It was concluded that GSH has a hig nutritive value for ruminants.
feeding value; ruminants
