A comparison of two types of fish meal as protein supplements for finishing British Friesian steers given grass silage ad libitum

Abstract

Fish meal supplementation of grass silage diets has increased the daily live-weight gain of growing beef cattle. However, the live weight advantage at turnout has generally been negated after a period of compensatory growth at grass. Hence, protein supplementation may be economically advantageous with cattle being finished out of yards. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effect of feeding two types of fish meal on the performance of dairy-bred cattle during the finishing winter of an eighteen-month beef system.