Forty steers averaging 371 kg BW were allotted to a randomized block design with a 3 x 3 factorial arrangement, where four steers were slaughtered as reference, to evaluate the effects of feeding different protein sources (urea, amiferm, soybean meal) and forage (sugar cane, corn silage and pasture Bracharia brizantha) on carcass biometry and viscera and internal organs weights. Diets were formulated to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. No significant forage x protein source interaction was detected. It was not observed significant effect of protein source on the evaluated parameters. Forage, weight (% empty body weight -% EBW), stomach content (CRROA) and content gastrointestinal (CGI) increased significantly when the animal was fed sugar cane (7.52 and 8.59% EBW, respectively) and did not differ when corn silage and pasture were fed, averaging 5.10 and 5.89%, respectively. Grazing animals showed the same carcass compacity of those fed other forages. The animals fed sugar cane showed to be less compact than those fed corn silage. It was detected significant effect of protein sources on compacity, that decreased in animal fed Amiferm and was the same in animals fed urea and soybean meal-based diets. It was concluded that animals fed sugar cane showed greater fill digestive tracts and smaller compactness index of carcass.
amiferm; Brachiaria brizantha; corn silage; soybean meal; sugar cane; urea
