Intake and apparent digestibilities of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (TC) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), average daily weight gain and feed: gain of diets containing Tifton 85 bermudagrass hays with 35, 42 and 56 days of regrowth were evaluated with Nellore steers. Eighteen animals averaging 345 kg were allotted in a randomized complete blocks design with six replicates. All diets contained 60% forage and 40% of a concentrate mix based on ground corn and minerals, in dry matter basis. The experiment lasted 100 days, in which 16 were used for the animal adaptation and three periods of 28 days for the animal performance evaluation. As the hay age increased, there was a linear decrease in DM, CP and EE intake, while the TC and NDF intakes were not affected by the regrowth age. The average daily weight gain (1.23kg) and the feed: gain (6.35) was not influenced by the regrowth age. The coefficients of digestibility of DM (59.6), CP (48.0), EE (53.2), TC (63.6) and NDF (41.5) were not affected by the regrowth age of the Tifton 85 bermudagrass hay. Although the diets were nutritionally similar, the recommendation for the regrowth age was 42 days.
feed:gain ratio; weight gain
