Scientific Reports (Jun 2021)

Macromineral and trace element requirements for Santa Ines sheep

  • Dayanne Lima Sousa,
  • Marcos Inácio Marcondes,
  • Luciano Pinheiro Silva,
  • Francisco Wellington Rodrigues Lima,
  • Caio Julio Lima Herbster,
  • Jocely Gomes Souza,
  • João Paulo Pacheco Rodrigues,
  • Leilson Rocha Bezerra,
  • Ronaldo Lopes Oliveira,
  • Elzania Sales Pereira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91406-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Minerals play an important role in animal metabolism. Knowledge of mineral requirements allows well-formulated diets to be provided, which is the main factor that affects performance. To determine the macromineral and trace element requirements for growth and maintenance, thirty-eight 2-month-old Santa Ines lambs with initial body weight (BW) of 13.0 ± 1.49 kg were distributed in a factorial design with feeding levels (ad libitum, 30% and 60% feed restriction) and sex classes [castrated (CM) and intact males (IM)]. The net mineral requirements for gain were higher (P 0.05) the maintenance requirement of the trace elements Co, Cu, Zn and Cr which were 0.0015, 0.037, 0.698, and 0.0055 (mg/kg EBW0.75), respectively. Our study indicated that the Santa Ines net mineral requirements are different from the main nutritional requirements established by committees for sheep, which may result in unbalanced diets.