“Suplementação em pasto no período seco: Influência no consumo e comportamento ingestivo de bovinos cruzados Angus X Nelore”

Abstract

Pasture supplementation during the dry season is a key strategy to maintain the productive performance of beef cattle, due to the decline in forage quality and availability. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of protein energy supplementation (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8% of body weight) on the ingestive behavior of crossbred rearing cattle. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Beef Cattle, in Campo Grande – MS, from May to October 2024, in a randomized block design with three blocks and 48 Angus × Nellore steers distributed in paddocks of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. Animals were supplemented once daily and evaluated over two consecutive days, during 12 hours of daylight observation, with visual records every five minutes. The observed behavioral activities included grazing, rumination, idleness, supplement intake, water intake, and bite rate. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and linear and quadratic regression (p < 0.05) using SAS® software. Increasing supplementation levels significantly altered the animals' ingestive behavior, with a reduction in grazing time and an increase in rumination and idleness times, in addition to a reduction in bite rate. It is concluded that supplementation up to 0.8% of body weight modifies the feeding activity patterns of rearing cattle, promoting behavioral adaptations compatible with greater comfort and intake efficiency during the dry season.