Nitrogen sources associated with different forms of presentation of corn grain for confined cattle

This experiment aimed to evaluate the replacement of soybean meal by non-protein nitrogen sources (NPN) in combination with ground or whole corn in the diet concentrate fraction of confined cattle on the dietary intake, blood protein metabolite analyzes, and performance and ingestive behavior. The experiment was developed at the Laboratório de Bovinocultura de Corte of the Department of Zootechnics of UFSM. We used 53 steers, with Charolais or Nellore predominance, with initial mean age and weight of 22 months and 250 kg. Experimental diets contained voluminous:concentrate ratio of 50:50 based on dry matter. The treatments were: soybean meal + whole grain corn; soybean meal + milled corn; common urea + whole grain corn; common urea + milled corn; protected urea + whole grain corn; protected urea + milled corn. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 3x2 factorial scheme. There was no significant interaction between nitrogen source and corn grain form for any of the variables studied (P>0.05). Dry matter and crude protein intakes were higher for animals fed with soybean meal both in kg and in kg/100 live weight. Daily weight gain was higher for steers fed with soybean meal (1,600 kg/day) vs common urea (1,238 kg/day) and protected urea (1.217 kg/day). Corn presentation did not reflect any differences in the parameters of consumption, performance and behavior. The concentration of circulating albumin showed a significant interaction between nitrogen source and date of collection (P0,05). Os consumos de matéria seca e proteína bruta foram superiores para animais alimentados com farelo de soja tanto em kg quanto em kg/100 de peso vivo. O ganho de peso diário foi superior para novilhos alimentados com farelo de soja (1,600 kg/dia) vs ureia comum (1,238 kg/dia) e ureia protegida (1,217 kg/dia). A forma de apresentação do milho não refletiu nenhuma diferença nos parâmetros de consumo, desempenho e comportamento. A concentração de albumina circulante apresentou interação significativa entre fonte nitrogenada e data de coleta (P