Extruded cottonseed meal (Gossipum spp.) in the diet of ruminants: intake and digestibility

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the consumption and digestibility of nutrients in sheep fed diets containing different levels (0%, 20%, 30% and 40%) inclusion of cottonseed meal extruded. It was used four male sheep aging between five to six months, that were installed in metabolic cages. The experimental design was a Latin square, and the effects of linear and quadratic order relating to the variation in levels of cottonseed meal extruded through test (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference to the intake of dry matter (DM) (g/day), intakes of crude protein (CP) (g/day), organic matter (OM) (g/day) and dry matter (% BW) gross energy (GE) (kcal/kg/day), total carbohydrates (TC) (g/day) and dry matter (g/UTM). Significant results of order quadratic (P < 0.05) were obtained from the use of ether extract (EE) (g/day). The digestibility of DM, OM, GE and TC showed no significant difference (P <0.05). However, there was significant response of linear and quadratic order and only quadratic for the digestibility of CP and EE (%), respectively. The extruded cottonseed meal can be included at levels up to 40% in complete feeds for ruminants without affecting mainly the nutritional value of the total ration. Keywords: Cotton, food alternative, sheep.