Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T19:27:58.218Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The growth of young cattle fed on dried grass alone and with barley 1. Feed intake, digestibility and body gains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

C. R. Lonsdale ,
E. K. Poutiainen  and
J. C. Tayler
C. R. Lonsdale
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LR
E. K. Poutiainen
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LR
J. C. Tayler
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LR
Get access

Summary

1. The primary growth of a sward of S24 perennial ryegrass was harvested between 23 April and 9 May 1968, artificially dried and either chopped or coarsely milled. The two physical forms of grass were wafered either alone or together with 50% by dry weight of rolled, anaerobically stored barley, and given to 7-month-old, Hereford × British Friesian steers in an experiment of 2 × 2 factorial design.

2. A representative group of animals was slaughtered at the beginning of the experiment, and the remainder were individually fed ad libitum for 70 days, after which they also were slaughtered. During the feeding period digestibility was determined by total faecal collection from all the animals individually on two occasions.

3. Dry-matter intake and live-weight gain were similar on all feeds. The weight of gut contents as a percentage of final live weight was significantly lower and the carcass-weight gain was significantly higher for animals given wafers containing barley compared with those for animals given wafers of grass alone.

4. Coarse milling compared with chopping reduced the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, cellulose and energy; the addition of barley increased the digestibility of organic matter but further reduced that of cellulose.

5. The efficiency of conversion of digested energy to empty-weight or carcass gain was similar for wafers containing the two forms of forage, but the digested energy of wafers containing barley was converted to carcass weight with significantly greater efficiency than that of wafers consisting solely of grass.

6. Physical separation of the tissues of sample joints failed to show any significant differences in the proportion of fat, muscle and bone as a result of either differences in physical form or the inclusion of barley.

7. The results indicate that live-weight gain is an insufficiently sensitive measurement by which to assess the true productive potential of feeds given to ruminants in short-term experiments.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , August 1971 , pp. 461 - 471
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1971

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

Agricultural Research Council. 1965. The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 2, Ruminants. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
American Society Of Agricultural Engineers. 1967. (Recommendations adopted 1940.) Methods of determining modulus of uniformity and modulus of fineness of ground feed. Yb. Am. Soc. agric. Engr, p. 301.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Graham, N. McC. 1956. The effect of the grinding and cubing process on the utilization of the energy of dried grass. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 47: 207–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Wainman, F. W. and Wilson, R. S. 1961. The regulation of food intake by sheep. Anim. Prod. 3: 51–61.Google Scholar
Campling, R. C. and Freer, M. 1966. Factors affecting the voluntary intake of food by cows. 8. Experiments with ground, pelleted roughages. Br. J. Nutr. 20: 229–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crampton, E. W. and Maynard, L. A. 1938. The relation of cellulose and lignin content to the nutritive value of animal feeds. J. Nutr. 15: 383–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grassland Research Institute. 1961. Research techniques in use at the G.R.I. Hurley. Bull. Comm. Bur. Past. Fid Crops, No. 45.Google Scholar
Fontenot, J. P., McClure, W. H., McClaugherty, F. S. and Carter, R. C. 1967. Effects of physical form and roughage to concentrate ratio of rations for fattening feeder lambs. Bull. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Research Division, No. 7.Google Scholar
Forbes, T. J., Raven, A. M., Irwin, J. H. D. and Robinson, K. L. 1967. The utilisation of grass fed indoors to young beef cattle, with or without supplementary barley. Br. Grassld Soc. 22: 158–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, T. J., Raven, A. M. and Robinson, K. L. 1966. Observations on the utilisation of grass grazed by young beef cattle, with and without barley supplementation. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 21: 167–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freer, M. and Campling, R. C. 1965. Factors affecting the voluntary intake of food by cows. 7. The behaviour and reticular motility of cows given diets of hay, dried grass, concentrates and ground pelleted hay. Br. J. Nutr. 19: 195–207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Head, M. J. 1953. The effect of quality and quantity of carbohydrate and protein in the ration of the sheep on the digestibility of cellulose and other constituents of the ration, with a note on the effect of adding vitamins of the B-complex on the digestibility and retention of the nutrients of a hay ration. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 43: 281–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heaney, D. P., Pigden, W. J., Minson, D. J. and Pritchard, G. J. 1963. Effect of pelleting on energy intake of sheep from forages cut at three stages of maturity. J. Anim. Sci. 22: 752–757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinders, R. G. and Owen, F. G. 1968. Ruminal and post-ruminal digestion of alfalfa fed as pelleted or long hay. J. Dairy Sci. 51: 1253–1257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R. R., Ricketts, G. E., Klosterman, E. W. and Moxon, A. L. 1964. Studies on the utilisation and digestion of long, ground and pelleted alfalfa and mixed hay. J. Anim. Sci. 23: 94–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R. and Tayler, J. C. 1969. The effect of stage of maturity of artificially dried ryegrass and method of processing on the growth of young cattle. Anim. Prod. ll: 273(Abstr.).Google Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R. and Tayler, J. C. 1971. The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets. III. The effect of length of period of feeding cold milk substitute to calves given dried grass in different physical forms. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 76: 495–505.Google Scholar
MacRae, J. C. and Armstrong, D. G. 1969. Studies on intestinal digestion in the sheep. 2. Digestion of some carbohydrate constituents in hay, cereal and hay-cereal rations. Br. J. Nutr. 23: 377–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCroskey, J. E., Pope, L. S., Stephens, D. F. and Waller, G. 1961. Effect of pelleting steer-fattening rations of different concentrate to roughage ratios. J. Anim. Sci. 20: 42–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paladines, O. L., Reid, J. T., Van niekerk, B. D. H. and Bensadoun, A. 1964. Energy utilisation by sheep as influenced by the physical form, composition and level of intake of diet. Nutr. 83: 49–59.Google ScholarPubMed
Poutiainen, E. K., Lonsdale, C. R. and Outen, G. E. 1971. The growth of young cattle fed on dried grass alone and with barley. 2. Effects on digestion. J. Anim. Prod. 13: 473–484.Google Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. and Terry, R. A. 1963. A two stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 18: 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weston, R. H. and Hogan, J. P. 1967. The digestion of chopped and ground roughage by sheep. 1. The movement of digesta through the stomach. Aust. J. agric. Res. 18: 789–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar