The experiment was conducted with four rumen canulated Holstein-Zebu steers, kept in individual pens and distributed in a 4x4 Latin square with repeated measures of time. The experiment lasted 88 days and the animals were fed Tifton-85 hay and concentrate ration with soybean meal or one of the following cakes: palm kernel, peanuts or sunflower, which constituted the four treatments. Intake, total apparent digestibility and rumen pH were evaluated. Dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) intakes were lower (P<0.05) in diets containing palm kernel cake. Intake of ether extract (EE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) did not differ between diets (P>0.05). The total digestibility of nutrients was not affected by the diets (P>0.05). Rumen pH was not influenced by the diets; however, it was affected by time of collection. Peanut and sunflower cake originated from the production of biodiesel can replace the soybean meal in the diet for steers. Total replacement of soybean meal with palm kernel cake decreased DM intake.
cattle; co-product; intake; oil cake
