Roughage sources in beef cattle finishing diets.

Abstract

In four feeding trials with beef steers, corn silage (CS), alfalfa hay (AH), and alfalfa silage (AS) were compared as roughage sources in dry-rolled (DRC); dry whole (DWC); ground, high-moisture (GHMC); and whole, high-moisture corn (WHMC) fattening diets. In processed corn diets (DRC and GHMC), steers fed CS had lower DMI (P less than .05) and feed:gain ratios (P less than .10) than steers fed AS as the roughage source. In a separate trial, greater gains (P less than .10) and lower feed:gain ratios (P less than .05) were found during the initial feeding period, which included the adaptation phase, for steers fed CS vs steers fed AH as the roughage source. Over the entire feeding period, lower (corn type x roughage source interaction, P less than .05) feed:gain ratios were found in GHMC diets when CS was fed as the roughage source; feed:gain ratios were similar in steers fed DRC diets containing either CS or AH. Over the entire feeding period, similar performance was found among steers fed the various roughage sources in DWC diets; however, with WHMC diets, steers fed AS as the roughage source had lower feed:gain ratios than did steers fed AH (P less than .05) or CS (P greater than .10). In the processed corn diets, high correlations were found between diet NDF digestibility and gain (r = .80), intake (r = .68), and feed:gain ratios (r = -.66); similar trends were found in WHMC diets but not in DWC diets. These results suggest that the ideal roughage source to complement finishing diets may depend on corn processing method and feeding period (adaptation vs finishing).

Liver abscesses in feedlot cattle: a review.

“…Utley et al (1973) reported that 3.7% of the steers fed 80% concentrate and 20% whole peanut hulls had liver abscesses, but when hulls were ground or pelleted, the incidence increased to 56 and 59%, respectively. Cattle fed dry hay tended to have a higher incidence of liver abscesses than cattle fed silage as the roughage source (Mader et al, 1991b(Mader et al, , 1993. Increased feed sorting in diets containing dry roughage (compared to silage) possibly contributes to ruminal acidosis and subsequent liver abscesses.…”

Influence of roughage and grain processing in high-concentrate diets on the performance of long-fed Holstein steers1

“…1995. 73:1888-1900 sources and their effects on feedlot performance (Haskins et al, 1969;McCartor et al, 1972; Moore et al, 1990;Mader et al, 1991). Preston (1991, 1992) demonstrated an economic benefit from reducing the roughage concentration in high-grain feedlot diets during the mid-finishing phase.…”

Abscesso hepático em bovinos: Revisão

“…Porém, quando as cascas foram moídas ou peletizadas, a incidência aumentou para 56 e 59%, respectivamente. De acordo com Mader et al (1991), bovinos alimentados com dietas contendo forragem seca apresentam uma maior incidência de abscesso hepático quando comparados aos submetidos a dietas contendo silagem como fonte de volumoso, sendo que uma possível justificativa, seria a maior seleção dos alimentos por parte dos animais em dietas contendo forragem seca, o que contribui para o surgimento da acidose ruminal e subsequentemente dos abscessos hepáticos.…”

“…Os autores verificaram maior incidência de abscessos hepáticos (11,1%) em bovinos submetidos a dietas com silagem de milho como fonte de volumoso e sem a inclusão de DDGS. Mader et al (1991) relataram maior incidência de abscessos hepáticos em bovinos alimentados com milho grão úmido, em relação ao milho laminado seco. Entretanto, Stock et al (1991) A maior incidência de abscessos hepáticos em bovinos da raça holandesa é justificada pelo maior tempo de alimentação desses animais, e também pelo maior consumo de alimentos quando comparados aos bovinos de corte de peso semelhante (em média 12% maior).…”