Rumen parameters of sheep fed cassava peel as a replacement for corn

• Cassava peel levels had no effect on the dry matter intake an dry matter digestibility.
• Cassava peel levels had no effect on the valou pH and N-NH3 concentration.
• Cassava peel levels had no effect of cassava peel levels on the ruminal pool.
• The total replacement of corn by cassava peel in the diets of sheep.

We hypothesized that cassava peel, high in energy, could replace corn and used as energy resource for animal feed in the tropics. This study assessed the intake, total apparent digestibility of nutrients, rumen parameters (pH, NH3-N, and volatile fatty acids), and rumen dynamics of NDF of sheep fed with different corn replacement levels with cassava peel (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%). Five castrated Santa Ines sheep with an initial average weight of 42.0 ± 4.44 kg were fistulated in the rumen and distributed in a 5 × 5 Latin square design, divided into five 14-d periods. Cassava peel levels had no effect on the DM intake (1364 g/d), DM digestibility (691 g/kg), pH (6.45), and N-NH3 concentration (20.7 mg/100 mL). Collection time after feeding showed effect in both ruminal pH and N-NH3 concentration. A quadratic effect was found for propionate concentration and acetate:propionate ratio. There was no effect of cassava peel levels on the ruminal pool of NDF (504 g) and NDFi (285 g), as well on the rate of ingestion (0.060%/h), digestion (0.033%/h), and passage of NDF (0.026%/h). Thus, we recommend the total replacement of corn with cassava peel in the diets of sheep.