Balanço de água e nitrogênio em ovinos alimentados com ração adicionada de feno de Jurema preta.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to calculate the water balance in sheep fed diets fed with black jurema hay, a semi-arid tannic legume. Twelve sheep with 120 days and initial weight of 26.75 kg ± 2.29 in metabolic cages were used for 21 days, five of which were collected. Experimental diets contained 0, 12.5, 25 and 37.5% black jurema hay. Samples of faeces, urine, leftovers, ration, water supplied and evaporated were measured and collected. The water balance of the diets was calculated and the tannins of the rations were determined. The design was completely randomized with four treatments and three replicates. It was observed that the inclusion of black jurema hay did not affect the water balance, although they showed a quadratic effect as food water intake and metabolic water. The free water, excreted in faeces, urine, retained water and absorbed water were not influenced by the addition. The water content of the food (kg and g / kg0.75) when correlated with total phenols (TP), total tannins (TT) and condensed tannins (CT) presented a quadratic behavior (p <0.05). The other variables were not affected by TP, TT and CT. Black jurema hay can be added to sheep feed without altering the water balance.