“Moringa oleifera ” in feeding of suckling calves of the Pantaneira breed

SUMMARY The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of calves of the Pantaneira breed during the breastfeeding period. For this, were used ten calves, from birth to 84 days of life, with a mean body weight of 23.3Kg, divided into two treatments: C - animals receiving concentrate, and CMH animals receiving concentrate and moringa hay (Moringa oleifera). The performance was evaluated by the average daily weight gain; body growth, via measurements of heart girth and height of the withers and the rump; the dry matter intake, expressed as kg/day, percentage of body weight and as function of metabolic weight; consumption of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber; and feed conversion. The experimental design was a randomized block with two treatments and five replications, each experimental unit represented by an animal. Were realized analyses of variance and Tukey test considering a significance level of 5 % probability. The animals presented a dry matter intake, average daily weight gain, percentage of body weight and similar metabolic weight; for both treatments. Likewise, it occurred for feed conversion and crude protein, except for neutral detergent fiber where hay fed animals showed higher intake. The performance of the suckling calves was not affected by the inclusion of moringa hay.