Rate of growth, feed utilisation and digestibility observed with diets containing ensiled maize grain or maize ears fed alone or in mixtures

Abstract

Rate of gain of beef cattle fed ensiled high moisture maize ears or grain in high concentrate diets gave values comparable to those observed with dry products while feed conversion was improved by the introduction of ensiled products. Digestibility was higher with ensiled products than with corresponding dry concentrates especially when maize ears have been considered. Dry matter content at harvesting was shown to be important in affecting digestibility since, from the experiments discussed, it does not seem advisable to ensile products with more than 70% dry matter. Animal performance with mixed diets was affected by the level of maize silage in the diet. The best results were achieved when maize silage comprised up to 55% of the diet dry matter. Experiments on voluntary intake of mixed diets have shown that the highest dry matter intake is reached when maize silage represents roughly 50% of the total ration dry matter. Nutrient digestibility of mixed diets of corn silage and concentrates increases as concentrate level increases.