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. 2021 Jun 10;11(1):12329.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91406-w.

Macromineral and trace element requirements for Santa Ines sheep

Dayanne Lima Sousa  1 , Marcos Inácio Marcondes  2 , Luciano Pinheiro Silva  1 , Francisco Wellington Rodrigues Lima  1 , Caio Julio Lima Herbster  1 , Jocely Gomes Souza  1 , João Paulo Pacheco Rodrigues  3 , Leilson Rocha Bezerra  4 , Ronaldo Lopes Oliveira  5 , Elzania Sales Pereira  6
Affiliations

Macromineral and trace element requirements for Santa Ines sheep

Dayanne Lima Sousa et al. Sci Rep. .

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) with increasing BW and average daily gain, except for Ca and Na, which remained constant as the empty BW (EBW) increased. The macromineral net requirement for maintenance (g/kg EBW0.75) and the true retention coefficient (k; %) were 0.0784 and 65.2 for Ca, 0.0926 and 80.0 for P, and 0.0379 and 59.0 for K, respectively. The k of Mg was higher (P < 0.05) for IM (11.3 for IM and 7.9 for CM). Sex did not affect (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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of total dietary macromineral requirements among the obtained results and the committees (INRA and NRC).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of total dietary trace mineral requirements among the obtained results and the committees (INRA and NRC).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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