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Evaluation of pelleted dried grass as a supplement to grass silage for fattening steers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

M. J. Drennan  and
M. J. Lawlor
M. J. Drennan
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Institute, Grange, Dunsany, Co. Meath, Ireland
M. J. Lawlor
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Institute, Grange, Dunsany, Co. Meath, Ireland
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Summary

Two experiments were carried out using 130 Friesian-type castrated males (steers) to compare pelleted dried grass with rolled barley as supplements to high quality grass silage for fattening steers. There were six treatments in each experiment and, in addition, Experiment 1 had a pre-experimental slaughter group. The animals on each treatment were group-fed grass silage ad libitum for 98 and 112 days in Experiments 1 and 2 respectively. The treatments were (1) no supplement, (2) 1·5 kg dried grass, (3) 3·0 kg dried grass, (4) 4·5 kg dried grass, (5) 1·5 kg barley and (6) 3·0 kg barley per head daily. Each increase in the level of supplement depressed silage DM intake but there was no difference between dried grass and rolled barley. At each level of supplementation, live-weight and carcass-weight gain for animals fed dried grass and barley were similar. Responses in terms of live weight and carcass weight to increasing increments of supplementary feed declined as the level of supplementation was increased.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , February 1976 , pp. 97 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1976

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