Abstract

CUARTAS CARDONA, César Augusto; NARANJO RAMIREZ, Juan Fernando; TARAZONA MORALES, Ariel Marcel  and  BARAHONA ROSALES, Rolando. Energy use in cattle in intensive silvopastoral systems with Leucaena leucocephala and its relationship to animal performance. Ces. Med. Vet. Zootec. [online]. 2013, vol.8, n.1, pp.70-81. ISSN 1900-9607.

Abstract Intensive silvopastoral systems (ISS) have been presented in recent years as a form of agroforestry that aims to intensify livestock farming in a natural way and make it an environmentally and socially responsible activity. However, there are still many unsolved technical and scientific issues to understand how these systems work. One of those questions has to do with the efficient use of energy. The aim of this study was to make an approach to energy partition in cattle grazing under ISS and its implications on productive performance, comparing with conventional farming systems. Time spent by the animals in their main behavioral activities was characterized and compared with reports on conventional systems. Additionally, weight gain was projected for different body weight ranges, finding economic and productive improvements for ISS grazing. According to the observations and calculations of this study, it is suggested that cattle grazing under ISS use energy better because they spend less on walking and more energy can be saved for weight gain.

Keywords : Animal behavior; cattle; energy efficiency; weight gain.

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