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Studies on the nutrition of ruminants: 5. The effect of diets containing up to 70% ground barley straw on the live-weight gain and carcass composition of yearling Friesian cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

H. Swan  and
G. E. Lamming
H. Swan
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics.
G. E. Lamming
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics.
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Summary

1. Three groups, each of eight steers, were fed on pelleted diets containing 30, 50 or 70% ground barley straw, maize and soya bean meal. On an air-dry basis the diets contained 12% crude protein.

2. Daily live-weight gain was 1·29, 1·19 and 1·02 kg/day for the 30, 50 and 70% straw diets respectively, and was negatively related to the percentage of crude fibre in the dry matter (r = −0·61, P < 0·05).

3. The apparent digestibility of dry matter, determined in sheep at the maintenance level of feeding was negatively related to percentage crude fibre in the dry matter (r = −0·91, P < 0·001).

4. All animals were killed at approximately the same live weight, which was reached on average in 140,153 and 163 days by the 30, 50 and 70% groups, respectively.

5. The differences in mean carcass weight between treatments were significant (P < 0·05). Killing-out percentage was significantly reduced (P < 0·05) as the proportion of ground barley straw in the diet was increased from 30 to 70%.

6. The proportion of straw in the diet had no direct effect on the composition of carcass gain.

7. The results are discussed in relation to the intake of digestible energy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 1970 , pp. 63 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1970

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References

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