Use of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy on feces to estimate digestibility and dry matter intake of dietary nutritional characteristics under grazing conditions in Colombian creole steers.

Digestibility and intake are parameters difficult and expensive to estimate under grazing conditions; therefore, the aim of this study was to develop near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations applied to feces (F-NIRS) and evaluate their accuracy to predict dry matter digestibility (DMD) and dry matter intake (DMI) of Colombian creole cattle. Five digestibility trials using creole steers were conducted; indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) was used as internal marker and CrO and TiO as external markers. A total of 249 forage and 396 fecal samples from individual animals were collected, dried, and grinded for conventional chemical analysis.