Effects of Synovex-S and recombinant bovine growth hormone (Somavubove) on growth responses of steers: I. Performance and composition of gain.

Abstract

The influence of Synovex-S (SYN) ear implant (200 mg progesterone and 20 mg estradiol benzoate) and Somavubove (SbV) recombinant bovine growth hormone (.1 mg/kg BW i.m., daily) on live animal performance, tissue growth, and the partitioning of energy gain was determined using a slaughter-balance protocol with 25 young MARC II x (Angus-Hereford crossbred) beef steers (initial BW 182 +/- 1.8 kg). Following 21 d of adjustment to individual pens and to a diet of 80% concentrate and 20% corn-grass (1:1) silages, five groups of five steers per group were assigned to initial slaughter or a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments of CTL (no implant + daily placebo i.m. injection of bicarbonate-saline), SYN (implant + placebo), SbV, or SYN + SbV and slaughtered at 56 d on treatment. Steers were fed (per kilogram BW.75 daily) 20 g of CP and 252 Kcal of ME and consumed 5.5 +/- .07 kg/d DM across treatments. Empty body and carcass gains were affected (SYN, P < .01; SbV, P < .01) by treatments (CTL, SYN, SbV, and SYN + SbV: 1.26, 1.43, 1.63, 1.78 kg/d, SEM = .05, and .78, .97, .97, 1.08 kg/d, SEM = .04, respectively). Noncarcass gain was .45, .48, .60, and .60 kg/d (SEM = .03; SbV, P < .01). For empty body, both protein and water gains were greater for SYN-implanted steers (P < .05) than for steers not implanted and for SbV-injected steers (P < .01) than for placebo-injected steers. Treatments did not influence the efficiency of energy gain. The proportional amount of energy deposited as protein was greater (P < .01) for SbV-injected steers than for placebo-injected steers. The proportional amount of protein deposited was not influenced by SYN (P > .10); however, means were numerically greater for SYN-implanted steers than for steers not implanted, the largest mean being for the SYN + SbV treatment group. Somavubove increased (P < .01) the efficiency of energy deposited as protein in both the empty body and carcass compared with steers not receiving SbV. Efficiency of energy deposited as protein in the empty body tended to be greater (P < .10) for SYN-implanted steers than for steers not implanted. The efficiency with which total feed energy was deposited as protein in empty body was 10% greater for the SYN group than for the CTL group, 21% greater for the SbV group than for the CTL group, and 37% greater for the combined SYN + SbV treatment than for the CTL group. The data from this study are interpreted to indicate that SYN and SbV act in an additive manner to improve growth and protein deposition in young growing steers.