The objective of this trial was to evaluate the voluntary intake and ruminal passage of particles in supplemented finishing cattle during the drought to rainy transition season. Five Holstein x Zebu steers averaging 304 kg of live weight and 24 months of age located in five paddocks (0.34 ha each) of Brachiaria decumbens were used in this trial. The supplements fed (4 kg/animal/day) contained ground corn, whole soybean, urea, ammonium sulfate, and minerals and were formulated to yield, on as-fed basis, 12, 16, 20, and 24% of crude protein (CP). Four animals were assigned to a 4 x 4 Latin square with experimental periods lasting 21 days. The remaining animal was not supplemented and was used for comparative purposes (CONT). Forage grazed by the animals had average contents of CP and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of 109.9 and 564.4 g/kg of dry matter (DM), respectively. No significant differences in the intakes of DM, organic matter, and NDF were observed by increasing the CP contents of the supplements. Supplementation reduced consumption of forage but total DM intake was greater in the supplemented than in the CONT animal. Increasing the CP content of the supplements did not change the ruminal passage rate of particles that averaged 0.034 h-1 for the supplemented steers and was higher than that of the CONT animal (0.029 h-1).
nitrogenous compounds; signalgrass; protein supplementation; tropical pastures
