Correlation between Ingestive Behavior and Digestibility Coefficients of Supplemented Grazing Steers, with or without Addition of Propolis Extract (LLOS®)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between ingestive behavior and apparent digestibility of grazing cattle supplemented with or without propolis extract (LLOS®), during the rainy season. Thirty-two uncastrated crossbred steers (269±4.92 kg) with an average age of 20 months were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, with 8 repetitions. Two levels of supplementation were used (0.3 and 0.6% of body weight [BW], on a dry matter [DM] basis), with or without the addition of propolis extract (LLOS®). In treatments with propolis extract (LLOS®), the extract was added daily at 2 g/kg DM supplement. The significance of the correlation coefficient was tested using the "t" test at 5% probability. The parameters evaluated were: Apparent digestibility and ingestive behavior. The digestibility coefficients, except for crude protein and non-fibrous carbohydrates, showed a positive correlation with the time the animals spent feeding at the trough. The digestibility of total dry matter, organic matter, total carbohydrates and crude protein showed a positive correlation with feed efficiency of crude protein (CPFE) (P<0.05). The feed efficiency of total carbohydrates showed a positive (P<0.05), weak correlation only with the digestibility coefficient of protein. The correlations found in this study allow us to understand, after ingesting the feed and during digestion, the behavioral alterations of animals, adapting to changes in the diets.