Creatinine excretion and relationship with body weight of Nellore cattle

Abstract

The objective of this study was to estimate the urinary creatinine excretion by the shrunk body weight (SBW). In experiment I, 32 Nellore bulls with initial body weight of 259±24.9 kg and 14±1 months-old were used. The group was divided in four animals to maintenance and twenty eight animals feeding ad libitum and separated in four groups; each group was slaughtered at different times of feedlot (42, 84, 126 and 168 days). The diet was composed of corn silage and concentrate (55:45). Before the slaughters, the total urinary collection was realized during three days. A database of creatinine excretion was collected from other five studies that had been conducted with Nellore cattle. In all the studies, the total urinary collection was realized during at least three days. At the end of each collection, the animals were weighted. Urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) was related with the shrunk body weight and it can be estimated by the equation: UCE (g/day) = 0.0345 × SBW0.9491.