285 Supplement intake variation, weight, and body condition change in yearling heifers grazing late-summer dryland pastures with Rumax BoviBox versus Rumax BoviBox HM protein supplements

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate Rumax BoviBox versus Rumax BoviBox HM protein supplements on supplement intake behavior, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) change of yearling heifers grazing dryland pastures during late summer. Fifty-nine yearling commercial Angus heifers (428 kg) were stratified by BW and randomly assigned to one of two supplementation treatments: 1) free-choice access to Rumax BoviBox protein block supplement (30% CP, 23% salt; n = 29); and 2) free-choice access to Rumax BoviBox HM high magnesium protein block supplement (28.7% CP, 23% salt; n = 30). Individual supplement intake, time spent at the feeder, and intake variation were measured throughout the study. On d 0, 42, and 84 heifers were weighed and assigned a BCS following a 16-h shrink. Additionally, forage was sampled every 14 d throughout the study. Supplement intake (kg ∙ d-1) displayed a treatment × period interaction (P < 0.01). However, within period, treatment differences were not observed with intakes averaging 0.15 and 0.34 kg ∙ day-1 for d 0 – 42 and 42 - 84, respectively. Heifers spent more time at the feeder in period 2 than in period 1 (P < 0.01), averaging 7.67 vs 4.00 min per day, respectively. Supplement intake rate (g ∙ min-1) also displayed a treatment effect (P < 0.01) indicating that heifers in the Rumax BoviBox treatment had lower intake rate compared to Rumax BoviBox HM supplemented heifers. In conclusion, there were only minor differences in intake behavior and animal performance with the Rumax BoviBox and Rumax BoviBox HM supplement treatments. However, supplement intake increased and variation in intake decreased with declining forage quality and quantity.