Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T11:48:44.574Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prediction of the energy requirements for growth in beef cattle. 2. Hereford × British Friesian steers given dried grass or barley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

A. J. F. Webster ,
J. S. Smith ,
R. M. Crabtree  and
G. S. Mollison
A. J. F. Webster
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
J. S. Smith
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
R. M. Crabtree
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
G. S. Mollison
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
Get access

Summary

1. Hereford × British Friesian castrate male cattle, growing from about 80 to 500 kg, were given equal amounts of metabolizable energy (ME) from dried grass pellets or from a pelleted diet of barley and a protein supplement. Two animals on each diet were fed close to appetite (High) and two at a level mid-way between maintenance and appetite (Medium). The rations for all animals were reduced to approximately maintenance for 4 weeks on three occasions equally spaced throughout the experiment. Measurements of energy and nitrogen balance were made for each animal at intervals of 6 to 8 weeks. Total body-water content was estimated from D20 dilution at intervals of 110 kg live weight.

2. Values for the metabolizability of the gross energy of the dried grass and barley/protein diets were 0·55 and 0·67.

3. Metabolic heat production during growth was closely related to body weight to the power 0·75. Predicted basal metabolism was 395 kJ/kg 0·75 per 24 hr.

4. Estimates of the net efficiency of utilization of ME for growth were unaffected by small variations in the exponent of W used to describe the effect of body size on heat production. Both diets were utilized above maintenance with a net efficiency close to 0·62.

5. Nitrogen balance trials seriously overestimated nitrogen retention. Gains in fat-free body mass estimated from D2O dilution were combined with calorimetric measurements of energy retention to predict the relationship between energy retention and weight gain. The agreement between observed and predicted live-weight gain was good at the lower body weights and on the lower ration. For fatter animals eating the high ration at higher body weights, live-weight gains were less than predicted.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , December 1976 , pp. 329 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1976

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
ALderman, G., Morgan, D. E. and Lessells, W. J. 1970. A comparison of liveweight gains of beef cattle with values predicted from energy intakes measured as starch equivalent or metabolisable energy. In Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals (ed. Schurch, A. and Wenk, C.), pp. 81–84. EAAP Publ. No. 13.Google Scholar
Andrews, R. P. and Ørskov, E. R. 1970. The nutrition of the early weaned lamb. II. The effect of dietary protein concentration, feeding level and sex on body composition at two liveweights. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 75: 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Wainman, F. W. 1966. The fasting metabolism of cattle. Br. J. Nutr. 20: 103–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crabtree, R. M., Houseman, R. A. and Kay, M. 1974. The estimation of body composition in beef cattle by deuterium oxide dilution. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 33: 74A.Google ScholarPubMed
Duncan, Dorothy L. 1966. The balance trial and its limitations. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition (ed. Abrams, J. T.), pp. 51–80. Churchill, London.Google Scholar
Foot, Janet Z. and Greenhalgh, J. F. D. 1970. The use of deuterium oxide space to determine the amount of body fat in pregnant Blackface ewes. Br. J. Nutr. 24: 815–825.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forbes, T. J., Raven, A. M., Irwin, J. H. D. and Robinson, K. L. 1967. The utilization of grass fed indoors to young beef cattle, with or without supplementary barley. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 22: 158–164.CrossRefGoogle 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
Haecker, T. L. 1920. Investigations in beef production. 1. The composition of steers at the various stages of growth and fattening. Res. Bull. Minn, agric. Exp. Stn, No. 193.Google Scholar
Kay, M., Massie, R. and MacDearmid, A. 1971. Intensive beef production. 12. Replacement of concentrates with chopped dried grass. Anim. Prod. 13: 101–106.Google Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R., Poutiainen, E. K. and Tayler, J. C. 1971. The growth of young cattle fed on dried grass alone and with barley. 1. Feed intake, digestibility and body gains. Anim. Prod. 13: 461–471.Google Scholar
Moulton, C. R., Trowbridge, P. F. and Haigh, L. D. 1922. Studies in animal nutrition. 3. Changes in chemical composition on different planes of nutrition. Res. Bull. Mo. agric. Exp. Stn, No. 55.Google Scholar
National Research Council. 1970. Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. 4th ed. National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C.Google Scholar
Pullar, J. D. and Webster, A. J. F. 1974. Heat loss and energy retention during growth in congenitally obese and lean rats. Br. J. Nutr. 31: 377–392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, St C. S. 1970. Models of maintenance requirements in livestock. In The Use of Models in Agricultural and Biological Research (ed. Jones, J. G. W.), pp. 107–117. Grassld Res. Inst., Hurley, Berks.Google Scholar
Taylor, St C. S. and Young, G. B. 1966. Variation in growth and efficiency in twin cattle with live weight and food intake controlled. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 66: 67–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wainman, F. W., Blaxter, K. L. and Smith, J. S. 1972. The utilization of the energy of artificially dried grass prepared in different ways. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 78: 441–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, A. J. F., Brockway, J. M. and Smith, J. S. 1974. Prediction of the energy requirements for growth in beef cattle. 1. The irrelevance of fasting metabolism. Anim. Prod. 19: 127–139.Google Scholar
Webster, A. J. F., Smith, J. S., and Brockway, J. M. 1972. Effects of isolation, confinement and competition for feed on the energy exchanges of growing lambs. Anim. Prod. 15: 189–201.Google Scholar