[Nutritive value and voluntary intake of Macroptilium martii]

Inglés. An experiment to evaluate the chemical composition, apparent digestibility and voluntary intake of hay from the legume "orelha de onca" (Macroptilium martii) was conducted in Pernambuco, Brazil. The experiment, with five replications, was conducted with 18-month-old goats, each weighing about 26 kg. The conventional method of total feces collection was used. "Orelha de onca" was harvested from areas in which it occurs spontaneously, as part of the normal haymaking process. Results from chemical analyses were: dry matter 94.63 percent (contents by volume) and 56.93 percent (digestibility coefficient); organic matter 90.53 and 58.14 percent; crude protein, 14.59 and 69.98 percent; crude fiber, 29.76 and 41.83 percent; ether extract, 2.67 and 41.43 percent; and, nitrogen-free extract, 43.51 and 66.32 percent. The TDN value was 53.99 percent on drymatter basis. The voluntary intake (g/kg of W(075)) of dry matter was 61.16; crude protein, 8.79; and total digestible nutrients 33.11.

Español; castellano. En la region semiarida del estado de Pernambuco, Brasil, se midio la composicion quimica, la digestibilidad aparente y el consumo voluntario del heno de la leguminosa natural "orelha de onca" (Macroptilium martii). Se utilizaron cinco ovejas africanas con edad, en promedio, de 18 meses y un peso vivo inicial de 26 kg. Los animales permanecieron en jaulas metabolicas, donde recibieron heno de la leguminosa. Para las evaluaciones se tomaron muestras de heno ofrecido y rechazado y de heces. Los resultados de los analisis quimicos y de los coeficientes de digestibilidad del heno, con base en el porcentaje de MS, fueron, respectivamente, MS = 94.6 y 56.93 por ciento; MO = 90.53 y 58.14 por ciento; PC = 14.59 y 69.98 por ciento; FC = 29.76 y 41.83 por ciento; EE = 2.67 y 41.43 por ciento; y ENN = 43.51 y 66.32 por ciento. Los NDT alcanzaron un valor de 53.99 por ciento, y los consumos voluntarios de MS, PC y NDT (g/kg de W(075)) fueron 61.15, 8.79 y 33.11, respectivamente.