The influence of age and winter environment on Rumax Bovibox and Bovibox HM supplement intake behavior of winter grazing beef cattle on mixed-grass rangelands

The influence of RFI classification and cow age on body weight and body condition change, supplement intake, and grazing behavior of beef cattle winter grazing mixed-grass rangelands

“…Our research suggests that year and cow age have greater impacts on beef cattle performance, supplement intake, and grazing behavior than post-weaning heifer RFI in a winter grazing environment. However, differences in years observed for supplement intake variables are probably related to differences in supplement formulation as weather and forage conditions were similar both years of the study during the time period when supplement intake behavior was measured ( Wyffels et al, 2020 ). Bovibox HM, which was used during year 1, contains 1.5% more magnesium oxide than Bovibox, which was used during year 2.…”

The Influence of Residual Feed Intake and Cow Age on Beef Cattle Performance, Supplement Intake, Resource Use, and Grazing Behavior on Winter Mixed-Grass Rangelands

“…Love), and rough fescue ( Festuca scabrella Torr . ; Reference [ 20 ]). Available forage biomass of the study area was estimated by clipping ten randomly located plots to 2 cm in height, immediately prior to grazing, using a 0.25 m 2 plot frame.…”

“…Seasonal nutrient deficiencies associated with dormant rangeland forages often require protein supplementation to maintain animal performance, production, and provide increased economic returns [ 18 , 19 ]. However, the reported effectiveness of protein supplementation programs on grazing beef cattle performance has been inconsistent, likely due to variation in animal-to-animal protein supplement intake behavior [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Recent research has demonstrated that cow performance is related to supplement intake behavior [ 21 ], therefore, RFI, a potential proxy for cow efficiency may also be linked to protein supplement intake behavior.…”