Glycerine levels in the diets of crossbred bulls finished in feedlot: Apparent digestibility, feed intake and animal performance

This work was carried out to study different levels of glycerine as a partial replacement of corn on apparent digestibility, feed intake and efficiency and animal performance in young Purunã bulls finished in a feedlot. This study used 40 Purunã bulls of 209 ± 33.3 kg live weight and 8 ± 0.9 months old at the start of the experiment. The bulls were kept in a feedlot for 240 days. The diets were as follows: no glycerine and glycerine added at 60, 120 and 178 g/kg DM. The apparent digestibility of nutrients increased with increasing glycerine in the diet, with the exception of ether extract and neutral detergent fibre. Feed efficiency was improved by increasing glycerine level in the diet. The feed intake and animal performance were similar among the four diets.