Intake, digestibility and intake behaviour in cattle fed different levels of palm kernel cake

Objective. The potential use of palm kernel cake was evaluated as a replacement for soybean and corn meal in cattle feed, by investigating their intake, digestibility levels and the intake behaviour of cattle fed diets containing different levels of palm kernel cake concentrate. Materials and methods. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Federal University of Bahia, between August and October 2009. Five crossbred Holstein x Zebu adults, were used. A 5 x 5 Latin square experimental design was used. The animals were fed Tifton-85 Bermudagrass, which made up 65% of their diet, plus one of five different levels of palm kernel cake concentrate (0, 7, 14, 21 and 28%). Results. A linear decrease in dry matter (kg/day) was observed due to the lower palatability and higher fiber content of the palm kernel cake. Neutral detergent fiber intake by the animals showed a quadratic behavior. The coefficients of fractional digestibilities of the analyzed feed, did not differ due to the inclusion of palm kernel cake. The ingestive behavior of the animals was not influenced by the inclusion of palm kernel cake in the diet. Conclusions. Palm kernel cake can be used as an alternative feed supplement in ruminant production systems to reduce feed costs without changes in the studied variables.