Comportamento ingestivo de vacas em lactação alimentadas com cana-de-açúcar ou feno da parte aérea da mandioca

The effect of diets containing sugar cane or different percentages of cassava aerial portion hay (FPAM) inclusion on dairy cows ingestion behavior was evaluated. Sixteen cows were used, including twelve lactating and four dry, which were fistulated and divided into four 4 x 4 Latin squares. Diets were formulated in an attempt to be isoenergetic, with four percentages of FPAM in the diet (0, 33, 67 and 100% of diet total DM), replacing the sugar cane treated with 1% of a mixture of urea and ammonium sulfate (9:1 parts). The ingestion behavior was evaluated for 24 consecutive hours, with observations at five minute intervals. A quadratic effect (P 0,05) for numbers and periods of feeding and rumination was observed. The ingestion behavior evaluation constitutes a tool for measuring the amount and quality of diets consumed, since it demonstrates their ingestion response by cattle diet provided.