The objective of this study was to determine the effect of "catingueira" hay (CH) addition on nutritional balance by sheep. Fifteen "Morada Nova" males castrated sheep were used in a complete randomized design with three treatments (0, 50 and 100% CH addition) and five replications. The inclusion of CH did not influence the apparent nitrogen balance. The energy retained as percentage of the ingested energy was not affected by treatment, however, the energy retained as percentage of the digested energy declined linearly in function of the CH inclusion level. Considering the nutrititonal demands of the experimental animals, it was concluded that the average intake observed at the intermediary levels of CH, showed that the "catingueira" have a reasonable nutritive value, being a strategic forage plant to the herd in the dry season in the semi-arid region.
native forage; tanino; semi-arid; small ruminant
