scholarly journals A comparison of first-, second- and third-cut timothy silages in the diets of finishing beef bulls

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Kalevi Huuskonen ◽  
Maiju Pesonen

The objective of the present experiment was to study the effects of the third-cut grass silage compared with the first- and second-cut silages on intake, performance and carcass characteristics of finishing bulls. A feeding experiment comprised 45 Simmental bulls which were fed a total mixed ration ad libitum. The three dietary treatments included either first-, second- or third-cut grass silage (550 g kg-1 dry matter), rolled barley (435 g kg-1 dry matter) and a mineral-vitamin mixture (15 g kg-1 dry matter). Dry matter and energy intakes and growth rates of the bulls increased when either first- or third-cut silages were used instead of the second-cut silage. This was probably due to differences in digestibility, which was the lowest in the second-cut silage. There were no differences in intake or growth between the first- and third-cut silage-based rations. No significant differences in carcass traits among the feeding treatments were observed.

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Kalevi Huuskonen

This study was conducted to examine the performance of growing dairy bulls offered diets based on whole-crop barley silage with or without protein supplementation when compared to a grass silage-based diet. A feeding experiment comprised 36 bulls which were fed a total mixed ration ad libitum. The four dietary treatments were: 1) grass silage (600 g kg-1 dry matter) and rolled barley (400), 2) whole-crop barley silage (600) and rolled barley (400), 3) whole-crop barley silage (600), rolled barley (310) and rapeseed meal-based protein supplementation (90), and 4) whole-crop barley silage (600), rolled barley (330) and rapeseed meal + urea -based protein supplementation (70). Replacing grass silage with whole-crop barley decreased the carcass gain and carcass weight of the bulls due to lower energy intake. Protein supplementation either as rapeseed meal or rapeseed meal + urea of whole-crop barley silage based diets had no effects on animal performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Kalevi Huuskonen ◽  
Sari Rämö ◽  
Maiju Pesonen

The objective was to study the effects of primary growth vs. regrowth grass silage on intake, growth and carcass traits of growing bulls. In a feeding experiment, 30 bulls were offered a total mixed ration ad libitum. Two dietary treatments included either first or second cut grass silage (550 g kg-1 dry matter) supplemented with rolled barley (435 g kg-1 dry matter) and a mineral-vitamin mixture (15 g kg-1 dry matter). Feed and energy intake as well as the live weight gain of the bulls decreased when the second cut silage was used instead of the first cut silage. No differences in carcass conformation or carcass fat score between the treatments were observed. Analysed chemical, digestibility or fermentation parameters of the silage samples did not explain the differences in feed intake. However, some second cut silage samples were found to contain mycotoxins (zearalenone, roquefortine C, mycophenolic acid and HT-2), but it is difficult to estimate whether this was the factor that affected feed intake in the present study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Kalevi Huuskonen ◽  
Maiju Pesonen

The objective was to study the effects of partial replacement of barley grain by rye grain on dry matter (DM) intake and growth performance of growing bulls. The experiment was conducted using 80 dairy bulls which were fed total mixed rations ad libitum. The rations included grass silage (500 g kg-1 DM) and concentrate (500 g kg-1 DM). Four different experimental concentrate mixtures included rye at 0, 150, 300 and 450 g kg-1 DM. The average daily DM and metabolisable energy intakes of the bulls were 10.9 kg d-1 and 127 MJ d-1, respectively. There were no differences in DM, energy or nutrient intakes among the treatments. The average live weight gain and carcass gain of the bulls were 1543 and 832 g d-1, respectively, and rye inclusion had no effects on growth. There were no significant differences in feed conversion or carcass characteristics among the treatments. It can be concluded that rye grain is a suitable energy supplement with good quality silage for growing dairy bulls.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arto Kalevi Huuskonen ◽  
Maiju Pesonen ◽  
Markku Honkavaara

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of silage plant species (faba bean and field pea based whole crop legume-cereals vs. grass) on performance and meat quality of growing Aberdeen Angus (AA) and Nordic Red (NR) bulls. A 2×3 factorial design was used. The experiment comprised 30 AA and 30 NR bulls. Both breeds were randomly allotted to the three feeding treatments. The compositions (g kg-1 dry matter) of diets were: 1) grass silage (650) plus rolled barley (350), 2) faba bean-wheat silage (650) plus rolled barley (350) and 3) pea-wheat silage (650) plus rolled barley (350). The experimental diets were offered as total mixed rations ad libitum. The AA bulls grew faster, had better feed conversion rates and superior dressing proportion and carcass conformation compared to the NR bulls. Replacing grass silage by whole crop legume-cereal silages in the diet did not have remarkable effects on animal performance, carcass characteristics or meat quality.


1980 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55
Author(s):  
A. M. Petchey ◽  
H. H. Mohammed

ABSTRACTIn a trial of a changeover design, 12 British Friesian castrates (steers) were offered both grass silage and crushed swedes (Brassica napus) ad libitum so that they could show their preference for these feeds on a free-choice basis. Two additional dietary treatments were provided by the supplementation of either swedes or grass silage with 2 kg of rolled barley. Steers consumed 0·32 of their dry-matter intake as silage when offered a free-choice of crushed swedes and grass silage. Supplementing the diet with 2 kg of rolled barley significantly increased daily dry-matter intake but the increase was not affected by the location of the supplement, on either the silage or the roots.


1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-290
Author(s):  
Pekka Huhtanen ◽  
Harri Miettinen

Twelve Finnish Ayrshire cows were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with 4-week experimental periods to study the effects of replacing increasing amount of barley with wet distiller’s solubles (WDS) on feed intake, milk production, digestibility and blood constituents. The four dietary treatments consisted of grass silage ad libitum and 7.8 kg dry matter (DM)/d of barley, of which 0 (WDSO), 1 (WDS1), 2 (WDS2) and 3 kg DM/d (WDS3) was replaced with WDS. Mainly because of a greater intake of concentrate with WDS containing diets silage DM intake varied quadratically (P


1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 897-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. VEIRA ◽  
M. IVAN ◽  
G. BUTLER ◽  
J. G. PROULX

Following weaning at 6–7 mo of age, 36 beef steers were used to determine production responses when grass silage was supplemented with barley or fishmeal. The silage was made from direct-cut, formic- acid-treated grass harvested from a mixed sward and had a high nitrogen content but poor fermentation characteristics. The silage was fed ad libitum for 98 days either alone or supplemented with 500 g fishmeal or 500 g barley per day. Both fishmeal and barley increased total dry matter intake (P < 0.01) by an amount equivalent to the quantity of supplement offered but had no effect on silage intake (P > 0.05). Steers fed the fishmeal grew substantially faster than either the barley (0.53 kg/day) or unsupplemented (0.54 kg/day) groups (P < 0.01). Fishmeal supplementation resulted in a large reduction (35%) in the amount of feed required per kilogram of gain. Key words: Cattle, grass silage, fishmeal, growth


2001 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. CARSON ◽  
B. W. MOSS ◽  
L. E. R. DAWSON ◽  
D. J. KILPATRICK

The study investigated the effects of lamb genotype produced from hill flocks on feed efficiency, carcass characteristics and meat quality in animals finished on either a high forage:concentrate ratio diet (HFC) or a low forage:concentrate ratio diet (LFC). Purebred Scottish Blackface (BXB) lambs were compared with Blue-Faced Leicester×Scottish Blackface (BLXB) and Texel×Scottish Blackface (TXB) lambs. Purebred Cheviot (CXC), Suffolk×Cheviot (SXC) and Texel×Cheviot (TXC) lambs were also investigated. Lambs on the LFC diet were offered grass silage and concentrates mixed in the proportion of 0·80 silage and 0·20 concentrates on a dry matter basis. The LFC diet consisted of 0·20 grass silage and 0·80 concentrates on a dry matter basis. Representative lambs were slaughtered at the start of the experiment and on reaching 38 and 46 kg live weight. Averaged over the two slaughter weights, within the Blackface cross lambs, BXB had a lower liveweight gain (P < 0·01) than either BLXB or TXB (138, 207 and 203 (S.E. 11·1) g/day, respectively). Within the Cheviot cross lambs, CXC had a lower liveweight gain (P < 0·05) than SXC (188 v. 220 (S.E. 11·1) g/day), while SXC and TXC (204 g/day) had similar liveweight gains. Lambs on the LFC diet had a higher dressing proportion (P < 0·001) compared with lambs finished on the HFC diet (0·466 v. 0·434 (S.E. 0·0018) kg carcass per kg live weight). Averaged over the two slaughter weights BXB lambs had a lower (P < 0·05) dressing proportion than the other genotypes. Carcass conformation classification (assessed on a five-point scale) was higher (P < 0·001) in lambs finished on the LFC diet (3·0 v. 2·4 (S.E. 0·04)). Conformation classification was higher in lambs produced from Cheviot compared with Blackface ewes (P < 0·05). Within the Blackface cross lambs, BXB and BLXB lambs had a lower conformation classification (P < 0·001) than TXB lambs (2·4, 2·4 and 2·9 (S.E. 0·08) respectively). Within the Cheviot ewes, TXC lambs had a higher (P < 0·001) classification than either CXC or SXC (3·1, 2·7 and 2·7 (S.E. 0·08) respectively). Lambs finished on the LFC diet had a higher fat classification score compared with lambs on the HFC diet (P < 0·001) (3·4 v. 2·8 (S.E. 0·04)). Fat classification was similar across all genotypes. Lambs finished on the LFC diet had a lower ash content in the carcass than lambs finished on a HFC diet (P < 0·01) (44 v. 47 (S.E. 0·8) g/kg). Lamb genotype and dietary forage:concentrate ratio had no significant effect on cooking loss, sarcomere length, Warner–Bratzler shear force and L* values. Ultimate pH (pHU) was not influenced by dietary forage:concentrate ratio, but was significantly (P < 0·01) higher in BXB lambs compared with BLXB, TXB, CXC and TXC lambs. Lambs offered the LFC diet during the finishing period had significantly higher values for a* (P < 0·05), b* (P < 0·001), C* (P < 0·001) and H0 (P < 0·05) than lambs offered a HFC diet. Of these parameters only b* was significantly affected by lamb genotype, with BXB lambs having a lower value (P < 0·05) than the other genotypes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katariina Manni ◽  
Marketta Rinne ◽  
Erkki Joki-Tokola ◽  
Arto Huuskonen

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of restricted feeding strategies on performance of growing and finishing dairy bulls. The feeding experiment comprised in total 32 Finnish Ayrshire bulls with an initial mean live weight (LW) of 122 kg and age of 114 days. Feeding treatments were silage ad libitum and daily barley allowance of 93 g kg-1 LW0.60 (A); restricted feeding (R) at 0.80 × A; increasing feeding (I) similar to R until LW of 430 kg and thereafter similar to A; and decreasing feeding (D) similar to A until LW of 430 kg and thereafter similar to R. Restricted feeding strategies decreased daily dry matter intake and LW gain and increased the time to reach the target carcass weight (300 kg). Bulls on I exhibited compensatory growth. There were no significant differences in feed efficiency between the treatments. The present experiment indicates that silage intake ad libitum and supplemented with concentrate resulted in most effective beef production.


2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. PURSIAINEN ◽  
M. TUORI

The effect of replacing wilted grass silage (GS) with pea-barley intercrop silage (PBS) on feed intake, diet digestibility and milk production was studied with 8 multiparous Ayrshire-cows in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square experiment. Proportion of PBS was 0 (PBS0), 33 (PBS33), 67 (PBS67) or 100 (PBS100) % of silage dry matter (DM). The DM content was 559 and 255 g kg-1 for GS and PBS. Crude protein content was 131 and 170 g kg-1 DM, respectively. Pea-barley silage was more extensively fermented than GS with total fermentation acid content of 120 vs. 12 g kg-1 DM. Silage was fed for ad libitum intake and supplemented with on the average 13 kg concentrate per day. Silage DM intake was 9.2 (PBS0), 9.7 (PBS33), 9.0 (PBS67) and 7.1 (PBS100) kg per day (Pquadr. < 0.05). The energy corrected milk yield [30.3 (PBS0), 29.8 (PBS33), 30.3 (PBS67), 31.3 (PBS100) kg per day] was not significantly affected by the treatment. Milk protein concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.05) in response to feeding PBS. It is concluded that PBS can replace up to two thirds of wilted, moderate quality GS in the feeding of dairy cows because in this experiment pure pea-barley silage reduced silage intake.


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