Intake, digestibility, milk production, ingestive behavior and gas emissions of Saanen goats fed pornunça silage with levels of condensed tannin extracted from Schinopsis brasiliensis

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the greatest concentration of condensed tannin (CT) extracted from Schinopsis brasiliensis in pornunça silages based on intake, digestibility, milk production, ingestive behavior and estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in dairy goats. Eight multiparous Saanen goats at 30 days of lactation, with 38.0 kg of initial body weight, production of 2.0 ± 0.4 kg of milk/day, mean age of 2–3 years, were distributed in a double Latin square (4x4) with four experimental periods and four diets with different tannin levels at concentrations 0% (control), 2.4, 3.6 and 4.8% tannin of total diet. The CT levels in the silage of pornunça promoted a linear decrease for the intake of dry matter (DM, P < 0.001), organic matter (OM, P < 0.001), ash (P < 0.001), crude protein (CP, P < 0.001), neutral detergent fiber (NDF, P < 0.001), acid detergent fiber (ADF, P < 0.001) and water (P < 0.001). The inclusion of CT also promoted a linear decrease in apparent digestibility coefficients of DM (P < 0.001), OM (P < 0.001) and CP (P < 0.001), milk production (P < 0.001), NDF (P < 0.001), and GHG emission estimation (P < 0.001). The intake and rumination rates of DM and NDF showed a linear decrease (P < 0.001) with level of tannin in the diets. In the experimental conditions, the inclusion of condensed tannin extracted from Schinopsis brasiliensis in pornunça silages, at levels up to 2.4% DM basis, promotes a decrease in intake of DM (DMI) and OM (OMI) and milk production as decreases GHG emissions in Saanen goats.