USE OF PRICKLY PEARS TO REPLACE MOLASSES IN NUTRITIONAL BLOCKS - EFFECTS ON THE VOLUNTARY INTAKE

This study considered the chemical composition and the voluntary intak e by heifers and ewes of feed blocks in which whole prickly pears were used to replace molasses. The animals were given feed blocks that con tained either prickly pears or molasses, together with urea, wheat bra n, cement as binder, and a commercial mixture of vitamins and minerals . They had free access to the blocks as well as to vetch-oat hay. The inclusion of urea in the blocks considerably increased their nitrogen contents, although this level was lower in the prickly pear based bloc ks. The voluntary intakes by both species were identical for both type s of blocks: 0.82 kg DM/day for heifers and 0.25 kg DM/day for the ewe s. The corresponding intakes of hay were 7.68 kg DM/day and 1.02 kg DM /day for the heifers and ewes, respectively. These results showed that prickly pears could be used to replace molasses in feed blocks. ((C) Elsevier/Inra).