Produção e congelação de embriões de cabras alimentadas com grãos de canola

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to verify the effect of diet supplementation with canola grains, on the production and quality of fresh and post-freezing goat embryos and to determine the digestibility of dry matter and the nutrients of the ration. Twelve nonlactating female goats of mixed strain and weighting 36 ± 5.5 kg were used. The goats were divided randomly into two different groups: the treated group (with canola grain) and the control group (without canola). This experiment was done in a cross-over statistic model with six repetitions in each treatment. The animals received diets with 12% CP (crude protein) and 54% TDN (total digestive nutrients). However, the treated group receiving canola grain had the EE (ether extract) percentage of the total ration of 5.94% compared with the 2.46% of the ration given to the control group. The addition of canola grain at diets mainly composed of grains did not influence the production of embryos in goats, but the canola grain improved (P<0.01) the quality of fresh and postfreezing embryos. The digestibility of the dry matter and nutrients of the diet was determined through the partial collection of feces for six consecutive days. The NDFi (indigestible neutral detergent fiber) was used as an internal marker that was incubated for 144 hours in goats, to determine total feces production and digestibility. It was observed a higher (P<0.05) intake of dry matter and total carbohydrates in the control group, however, the TDN intake was higher (P<0.05) in the canola grain group. Difference in the digestibility among the rations, the digestibility of crude protein and ether extract being higher (P<0.05) and resulting in an increased TDN levels in the canola grain group. In conclusion, the addition of canola grains to the goat ration improves the quality of the embryos and the ration digestibility.