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Effect of plane of nutrition and slaughter weight on growth and feed efficiency of friesian steers during the finishing period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

Charlotte A Moore
Affiliation:
Greenmount College of Agriculture and Horticulture, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 4PU Department of Agriculture for N Ireland
K J McCracken
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for N Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
E F Unsworth
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for N Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
R W J Steen
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for N Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
F J Gordon
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for N Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
D J Kilpatrick
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for N Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
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Extract

Validation of a model based on energy metabolism equations given by ARC (1980) using data from experiments carried out in N Ireland and Denmark revealed major discrepancies (McCracken and Unsworth, 1989). While ARC predicted improvements in feed efficiency, and little change in carcase composition, of cattle with increasing plane of nutrition, there was some evidence that this was not the case when diets of constant forage:concentrate ratio were given. Apart from Danish studies (Andersen, 1975; Andersen et al.. 1984) relatively few data sets are available where plane of nutrition was a deliberate variable and carcase composition was determined at a series of weights. An experiment was therefore performed to examine the relationship between feed intake and slaughter weight on growth and feed efficiency of steers during the finishing period.

Type
Ruminant nutrition
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1991

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References

Agricultural Research Council, 1980. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau.Google Scholar
Andersen, H R 1975. Livest Prod Sci 2: 341355.Google Scholar
Andersen, H R, Ingvartsen, K L and Klastrup, S 1984. Livest Prod Sci 11:571586.Google Scholar
McCracken, K J and Unsworth, E F 1989. Proc 11th symposium Energy Metabolism, EAAP Publ no 43, 203206.Google Scholar