Intake, digestion and daily gain by cattle consuming bermudagrass hay and receiving concentrate supplements

Abstract

Feed intake, digestion and performance by cattle consuming bermudagrass ( Cynodon dactylon) ad libitum and receiving concentrate supplements were determined. In a Latin square with five Holstein steers (228 kg) fed bermudagrass hay (21.6 g nitrogen kg −1 dry matter (DM)), additions of soybean meal, urea or corn gluten and blood meals with or without urea to a ground corn-based supplement did not affect dry matter intake, digestibilities of organic matter or neutral detergent fiber. In a second experiment, crossbred beef heifers (233 kg) and steers (246 kg; zeranol implanted) were fed bermudagrass hay (18.1 g nitrogen kg −1 DM) ad libitum alone (control) or with ground corn plus dried molasses (833:167; 3.0 g kg −1 body weight) without (basal) or with soybean meal (2.5 g kg −1 body weight), urea (0.40 g kg −1 body weight) or corn gluten and blood meals (1.3 and 0.40 g kg −1 body weight, respectively) with or without urea (0.20 g kg −1 body weight; DM). Daily gain in the 84-day trial was 26% greater for basal than for control animals. Urea supplementation did not affect gain. Additions of protein meals elicited similar further increases in gain by implanted steers, but did not affect gain by non-implanted heifers.