Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-07T11:46:05.275Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Food intake, eating rate, weight gains, metabolic rate and efficiency of feed utilization in Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbred cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. E. Frisch  and
J. E. Vercoe
J. E. Frisch
Affiliation:
CSIRO Tropical Cattle Research Centre, Division of Animal Production, Rockhampton, Queensland 4700, Australia
J. E. Vercoe
Affiliation:
CSIRO Tropical Cattle Research Centre, Division of Animal Production, Rockhampton, Queensland 4700, Australia
Get access

Summary

Food intake, eating rate, weight change and fasting metabolic rate were measured on 12 animals of each of the following breed-types: Hereford × Shorthorn (HS), Brahman × HS (BX) and Africander × HS (AX). Measurements were made on ad libitum and fixed levels of lucerne and ad libitum and fixed levels of low-quality tropical pasture hay (approx. 1·2% N) during feeding periods of about 100 days' duration.

The BX and AX were heavier and either gained more weight or lost less weight than the HS on all diets. At feeding levels close to maintenance, which included the ad libitum pasture hay diet, adjustment for differences in either live weight or intake did not alter the unadjusted ranking of the breeds. On ad libitum lucerne, however, adjustment for either weight or intake showed higher gain in the HS than in the BX. The voluntary food intake per kg live weight was consistently and significantly highest for the HS and lowest for the BX. Rates of eating were not significantly different for the different breed-types but they were higher for high-quality lucerne and for the lower level of feeding. Fasting metabolic rate per kg live weight was highest for the HS and lowest for the BX; the difference between the breeds varied with the previous dietary treatment. The ratio of voluntary food intake to fasting metabolism was practically constant between breeds and animals within breeds, though different between diets.

Correlations for animals within breeds and years between the various parameters within diets and between diets are presented.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , December 1977 , pp. 343 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baker, F. S. Jr, Palmer, A. Z. and Carpenter, J. W. 1973. Brahman × European crosses vs British breeds. In Crossbreeding Beef Cattle. Series 2 (ed. Koger, M., Cunha, T. J. and Warnick, A. C.), pp. 277–284, Univ. Florida Press, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Balch, C. C. and Campling, R. C. 1962. Regulation of voluntary food intake in ruminants. Nutr. Abstr. Rev. 32: 669–686.Google ScholarPubMed
Blaxter, K. L. 1964. The efficiency of feed conversion by livestock. Jl. R. agric. Soc. 125: 87–99.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Clapperton, J. L. and Wainman, F. W. 1966. The extent of differences between six British breeds of sheep in their metabolism, feed intake and utilization, and resistance to climatic stress. Br. J. Nutr. 20: 283–294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deland, M. P., Jakes, J. E. and Giles, W. 1974. Beef production from Charolais, Brahman and Hereford sired calves under commercial management. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim.Prod. 10: 17–20.Google Scholar
Engels, E. A. N., Malan, A. and Baard, M. A. 1974. The voluntary feed intake of dry and lactating cows on natural pastures. S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci. 4: 113–116.Google Scholar
Forbes, J. M., Wright, J. A. and Bannister, A. 1972. A note on rate of eating in sheep. Anim. Prod. 15: 211–214.Google Scholar
Frisch, J. E. 1973. Comparative drought resistance of Bos indicus and Bos taurus crossbred herds in central Queensland. 2. Relative mortality rates, calf birth weights and weight changes of breeding cows. Aust. J. exp. Agric. Anim. Husb. 13: 117–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisch, J. E. 1976. A model of reasons for breed differences in growth of cattle in the tropics. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 11: 85–88.Google Scholar
Frisch, J. E. and Vercoe, J. E. 1969. Liveweight gain, food intake, and eating rate in Brahman, Africander, and Shorthorn × Hereford cattle. Aust. J. agric. Res. 20: 1189–1195.Google Scholar
Frisch, J. E. and Vercoe, J. E. 1976. Maintenance requirement, fasting metabolism and body composition in different cattle breeds. In Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals (ed. Vermorel, M.), EAAP Publ. No. 19. de Bussac, Clermont-Ferrand.Google Scholar
Garrett, W. N. 1971. Energetic efficiency of beef and dairy steers. J. anim. Sci. 32: 451–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, N. McC, Searle, T. W. and Griffiths, D. A. 1974. Basal metabolic rate in lambs and young sheep. Aust. J. agric. Res. 25: 957–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harbers, L. H., Schalles, R. R., Okoyoe, B. I. C. and Zemmelink, G. 1972. Comparative study of White Fulani, Friesian and White Fulani – Friesian bulls for meat production. Trop. Agric, Trin. 49: 1–8Google Scholar
Harvey, W. R. 1960. Least squares analysis of data with unequal subclass numbers. United States Department of Agriculture, ARS-20-8 (Mimeograph).Google Scholar
Kennedy, J. F. and Chtrchir, G. I. K. 1971. A study of the growth rate of F2 and F3 Africander cross, Brahman cross and British cross cattle from birth to 18 months old in a tropical environment. Aust. J. exp. Agric. Anim. Husb. 11: 593–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledger, H. P., Rogerson, A. and Freeman, G. H. 1970. Further studies on the voluntary food intake of Bos indicus, Bos taurus and crossbred cattle. Anim. Prod. 12: 425–431.Google Scholar
Marston, H. R. 1948. Energy transactions in the sheep. I. The basal heat production and heat increment. Aust. J. Sclent. Res. B1: 93–129.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. H. L., Saul, G. R. and McKeown, D. W. 1976. The effects of sire breed on calving difficulty and weaning weight in a beef breeding herd. Proc. Aust. Soc. anim. Prorf. 11: 109–112.Google Scholar
Rogerson, A., Ledger, H. P. and Freeman, G. H. 1968. Food intake and live-weight gain comparisons of Bos indicus and Bos taurus steers on a high plane of nutrition. Anim. Prod. 10: 373–380.Google Scholar
Taylor, St C. S. and Young, G. B. 1968. Equilibrium weight in relation to food intake and genotype in twin cattle. Anim. Prod. 10: 393–412.Google Scholar
Vercoe, J. E. 1970a. The fasting metabolism of Brahman, Africander and Hereford × Shorthorn cattle. Br. J. Nutr. 24: 599–606.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vercoe, J. E. 1970b. Fasting metabolism and heat increment of feeding in Brahman × British and British cross cattle. In Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals (ed. Schurch, A. and Wenk, C.), pp. 85–88. EAAP Publ. No. 13. Juris, Zurich.Google Scholar
Warnick, A. C., Kidder, R. W., Beardsley, D. W., Crockett, J. R. and Koger, M. 1973. Feed conversion by straightbred and crossbred cows fed in confinement. In Crossbreeding Beef Cattle. Series 2 (ed. Koger, M., Cunha, T. J. and Warnick, A. C.), pp. 122–127. Univ. Florida Press, Gainesville.Google Scholar