Intake, apparent digestibility, and methane emission in bulls receiving a feed supplement of monensin, virginiamycin, or a combination.

FONSECA, M. P. da; BORGES, A. L. da C. C.; SILVA, R. R. e; LAGE, H. F.; FERREIRA, A. L.; LOPES, F. C. F.; PANCOTI, C. G.; RODRIGUES, J. A. S.

Intake, apparent digestibility, and methane emission in bulls receiving a feed supplement of monensin, virginiamycin, or a combination.

Autores

FONSECA, M. P. da

BORGES, A. L. da C. C.

Descripción

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the feed supplements monensin, virginiamycin, or a combination of the two, on intake, digestibility, and methane emission in the male cattle breed F1 Holstein · Gir. We used a complete randomised design with four treatments consisting of the control, monensin, virginiamycin, and a combination of the two. The basal diets were composed of sorghum silage with Tanzania grass and the concentrate in the 1 : 1 ratio. Nutrient intake (P > 0.05) and the apparent digestibility coefficients (P > 0.05) were not affected by the supplementation with monensin, virginiamycin, or both. The combination of the supplements did affect methane emission (P < 0.05) when expressed in L/day, L/(kg DM), and L/(kg DM digestible). The lowest methane production was obtained with the combination of the supplements.