AMMONIA TREATMENT FOR SUGAR-CANE HARVEST RESIDUES .2. NITROGEN AND MINERAL BALANCE IN SHEEP

A total of 12 Pelibuey sheep of an average liveweight of 41 kg was hou sed in metabolism cages in a completely randomized design with two tre atments (untreatead residues and NH3 treated) for evaluating the effec t of the treatment on the nitrogen and mineral balance, the dry matter consumption and its digestibility. Residues and water were supplied a d libitum to the animals and 200 g of soybean meal daily. Total dry ma tter consumption (960 and 1230 g/day), digestible dry matter (452 and 803 g/day), water intake (1.4 and 2.2 litres/day) and urine production (0.4 and 0.9 litres/day), as well as consumption (19.5 and 37.4 g/day ), the excretion (7.2 and 17.5 g/day) and nitrogen retention (12.3 and 19.9 g/day) in the untreated and treated residues, respectively were significantly (P < 0.001) different. Calcium and phosphorus retention did not differ significantly between treatments. It is suggested to. u se the anhydrous ammonia treatment of the residues of the sugar cane h arvest and to study of the energy and mineral (calcium and phosphorus) supplementation in rations based on these residues.