Comparison of techniques that estimates the digestibility for younglings ostriches in the initial growing phase

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare two methods of digestibility estimation for ostrich younglings. Thirty two three-month-old ostriches were selected and allocated in boxes. External markers were used: chromic oxide and the LIPE® for determination of the values of the digestibility coefficient and digestible fraction of the nutrients. The experimental design was the entirely randomized, with two treatments and 34 repetitions. There was significant difference (P<0.05) between the estimation methods. LIPE® was the method with the best estimation, due to its lower coefficient of variation in relation to the values found for chromic oxide, as well as it presented values closer to those found in other studies.