Use of zeolite in fattening cattle

The objective of the work was to evaluate the effect of zeolite in a diet of fattening cattle in a corral, on its productive performance. In an entirely randomized design and a period of 63 days, 129 Aberdeen Angus cattle were used, castrated males, 14 months of age and with an initial body weight (LW) of 362 kg. 3 treatments were carried out: 0 gr of Zeolite / animal / day (D0), 50 gr of Zeolite / animal / day (D50) and 100 gr of Zeolite / animal / day (D100). The base diet was: 18% whole plant corn silage, 45% broken corn grain, 30% barley root pellets, 5% soybean pellet, 2% mineral vitamin nucleus. The daily amount of feed was adjusted to 2.5% of the PV on a dry basis. As of day 45, the silo was reduced by 8% and the corn grain was increased by the same percentage. It was recorded: initial weight, weight evolution every fifteen days, final weight, and daily gain of PV (GDPV). During the first 30 days a quadratic effect (p <0.05)) was observed in favor of D50 on GDPV. In the stage (30-45 days) a better performance of D100 was verified, corroborated by a linear effect (p <0.05) between 0 and 100 gr. In the stage (45-60 days), a quadratic decrease (p <0.05) was registered, observing a better behavior of mean GDPV (p <0.05) for D0. Therefore, if D50 had been combined at the beginning of the fattening with D100 at the end, a clearer and more favorable effect of the zeolite would be expected.