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The search for technologies to increase productivity of the herds, without increasing production costs, brings a positive highlight to extruded feeds, since these products act to maximize digestive efficiency. The objective was to evaluate the effect of using different levels of inclusion of extruded roughage to replace corn silage on nutritional and metabolic parameters in sheep. For this, 20 ewes aged over three years were used, housed in metabolic cages, distributed in a completely randomized design in four treatments, which consisted of different levels of inclusion of extruded roughage to replace corn silage (20%, 40%, 60% and 80%). Dry matter intake (DMI) and water intake were calculated by the difference between what was offered and what was left over. Blood glucose and energy and protein metabolites were obtained through blood collection by jugular venipuncture and subsequent laboratory analyses, and feeding behavior by observation every 5 min. for 24 h. DMI and water intake increased linearly with the inclusion of extruded roughage in the diet. The greater inclusion of extruded roughage reduced the total chewing time, consequently increasing the efficiency of ingestion, rumination and total chewing. The inclusion of extruded roughage in the diet of sheep increases the dry matter intake, without reducing the digestibility of nutrients, reducing the time spent on chewing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to evaluate the effect of extruded roughage Foragge® with different additives on intake, digestibility nutrients and nitrogen balance of sheep. Twenty adults, non-pregnant ewes with average weight 68 kg were used. The treatments were extruded roughage with additives (essential oil, virginiamycin, unpurified inactive yeast, tannin and purified inactive yeast). The design was in randomized blocks. The means were contrasted by SNK test, and the fecal score was tested by the Kruskal Wallis test (1952), at 5% significance. There was no difference in the intake of dry matter, crude protein, nitrogen, water, water in relation to dry matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (p > 0.05). As well as the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber, the fecal weight, fecal nitrogen, retained nitrogen and nitrogen retained in relation to nitrogen ingested (p > 0.05). However, dry matter intake as a function of body weight and metabolic weight, urinary nitrogen, hemicellulose intake, and hemicellulose as a function of NDF, were higher in the Foragge Factor® treatment (p < 0.05). The inclusion of different additives in the extruded roughage improved nutritional parameters, without causing disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]