Effects of monensin, virginiamycin and functional oils Essential® on the abrupt change to high concentrate diets for Nellore catte

Abstract

The rapid adaptation of cattle to high-concentrate diets is needed to make the most of compensatory gain without harming the health of the animals. Management practices adopted in this period is reflected in the performance of the animal during all the feeding period. The additives are manipulators of the rumen fermentation through the selection of gram-negative bacterias, which reduces the occurrence of metabolic disorders and contribute to improved animal performance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the inclusion effects of monensin, virginiamycin and functional oils Essential® for Nellore cattle, undergoing abrupt change to grain diets, and to evaluate the ingestive behavior, performance, blood metabolic profile, rumen health (ruminites rates and liver abscesses) and carcass characteristics. Forty eight Nellore steers, (initial BW ± 350 Kg), 20 months of age, will be confined for 70 days. The animals distribuition among the four treatments will be: A) control diet + 30 ppm monensin, B) control diet + 40 ppm monensin; C) control diet + 30 ppm monensin+ 15 virginiamycin D) control diet + 400 ppm of Essential® in a randomized complete block design with 12 repetitions. The final results will allow to verify how the additives interfere with abrupt change to high concentrate diets interfere at the performance, carcass quality and health parameters in the rumen. (AU)