Nutritional performance and metabolic characteristics of cattle fed spineless cactus

The effect of the inclusion of spineless cactus [0, 14.7, 29.4, 44.1, and 58.8% of Dry Matter (DM)] basis in replacement of Tifton hay on the intake and digestibility of nutrients, feeding behavior, and nitrogen compounds balance were evaluated. Five crossbred steers, rumen fistulated, with average body weight of 380 +/- 5.3 kg were assigned to a 5x5 Latin square design. The time spent with rumination activity linearly decreased (P0.05) to Neutral Detergent Fiber corrected to ash and protein (apNDF), the total digestibility of DM linearly increased (P0.05), there was a quadratic effect (P<0.05) on nitrogen balance, with a maximum value of 170 g d(-1) estimated with 33.2% of spineless cactus inclusion. It is recommended to include 41.8% spineless cactus in replacement of Tifton hay for crossbred cattle, due to the higher DOM intake without altering the nitrogen efficiency use.