Effect of Supplementing Grazing Cattle Calves with Urea-molasses Blocks, with and without Yucca schidigera Extract, on Performance and Carcass Traits

Abstract

Fourteen non-descript zebu cattle calves of about 1 year and 6 months age and 111 kg average body weight were used in this experiment. Grazing (5 h daily) animals were supplemented with urea-molasses blocks with and without Yucca, while the control group was without any supplementation i.e. grazing only. The feeding trial continued for a period of 70 days (November to February). At the end of trial three animals per treatment were slaughtered to compare carcass traits. Group no. 1 was fed block with yucca, group no. 2 was fed block without yucca and group no. 3 was on grazing only. Block intake was found to be 724 g/h/d and 1,239 g/h/d for group no. 1 and group no. 2, respectively (p<0.05). Feed efficiency of blocks was found to be 2.71 kg and 4.86 kg for group no. 1 and group no. 2, respectively (p<0.05). Block intake per kg BW 0.75 was found to be 14.75 and 26.05 gram for group 1 and group 2, respectively (p<0.05). Average daily body weight gain was found to be 267 g/h/d, 255 g/h/d and 169 g/h/d for group 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Carcass traits among the three treatments were found to be statistically similar. Thus urea-molasses blocks supplementation improved body weight gain and addition of yucca in the blocks further improved body weight gain, feed efficiency and economics. Environment (ambient temperature, rainfall, wind and humidity) had no significant effect on three treatments. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 9 : 1300-1306)