VOLUNTARY ROUGHAGE INTAKE BY NONPREGNANT AND PREGNANT OR LACTATING BEEF COWS

1973 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. JORDAN ◽  
E. E. LISTER ◽  
J. M. WAUTHY ◽  
J. E. COMEAU

Pregnant and nonpregnant Shorthorns were group-fed either hay or grass silage ad libitum from December until midsummer in 2 successive yr. Stage of gestation at the start of feeding each year averaged 120 days. In the 1st yr the cows were housed and in the 2nd they were confined to outside paved lots. Until the start of calving, the pregnant groups tended to consume less than their nonpregnant counterparts. During the 2 wk before the start of calving this difference in intake between pregnant and nonpregnant cows increased up to 12%. However, it was only for the silage-fed, pregnant cows wintered outside that intake was clearly insufficient for maintenance up to 48 h postcalving. Depsite a rapid increase in postcalving intake, all lactating groups lost weight. Results indicated that pregnancy in beef cattle may reduce intake below that expected from nonpregnant animals and may result in insufficient forage consumption for maintenance. During early lactation, beef cows were unable to consume enough stored forage to meet their full energy requirements.

Author(s):  
M. Kay ◽  
P.J. Broadbent ◽  
E.A. Hunter

Feed additives are widely used in beef production systems. Two trials were made to measure the effect of feed additives on the daily gain and feed efficiency of fattening beef cattle. In the first trial 48 Friesians and 48 weaned suckled calves weighing about 390 kg were fed individually on grass silage ad libitum together with 4 kg (Friesians) and 3 kg (weaned calves) bruised barley daily. The treatments were control (C), no additive; Avotan 150 mg/d (A); Flavomycin 45 mg/d (F) and Romensin 200 mg/d (R). Minerals and vitamins were given daily on the silage. In the second trial there were 240 Friesian and Exotic x Friesian bulls. They were housed on slats in groups of 15 and offered a mixture of bruised barley and soya bean meal ad libitum. The treatments were control, no additive; Flavomycin 50 mg/d, Romensin 210 mg/d and Salinomycin 150 mg/d. In trial 1 the steers were implanted with Ralgro and the heifers with Finaplix. No implants were used in the second trial. All the animals were weighed regularly and feed intake was recorded continuously. They were slaughtered when they achieved the required conformation and fat cover.


Author(s):  
M.A.S. Khan ◽  
J.H. Topps ◽  
P.J. Broadbent

The winter feeding of beef cows represents a high, proportion of the costs of calf production. Attempts to minimise cost include the use of beef (♂) x dairy cows (♀) which have the ability to suckle two calves and to mobilise body reserves during periods of underfeeding in early lactation. Khan and Topps (1985) observed that cows in good condition at calving could maintain milk production and raise two good calves when given 110 MJ ME/day in a diet which included a source of undegradable protein. Subsequently a preliminary experiment was carried out with three single suckled and nine double suckled cows to examine the effect of energy level on the performance of cows and calves.Three single suckled cows and nine double suckled cows i.e. six with a natural plus foster calf and three with twin calves produced by embryo transfer were used in this experiment. The levels of energy that were examined were 70 or 90, 80 or 100 and 90 or 110 MJ ME/day for single and double-suckled cows respectively, supplied in diets containing ammonia treated straw, barley and fishmeal. Nine of the cows were placed into trios according to calving date and age, with a trio consisting of a cow with a natural calf, a cow with a natural and foster calf, and a cow with twin calves. Each trio was allocated at random to one of the three levels of energy. Similarly, the remaining three cows with a natural and foster calf were allocated at random to 90, 100 or 110 MJ ME/day. The calves were given good quality hay ad libitum and free access to a concentrate mixture up to a maximum intake of 2 kg/head/day. The concentrate mixture consisted of (g/kg) 800 barley, 150 soyabean meal and 50 molassine meal. The experiment started on the 22nd day of lactation and was of 20 weeks duration for most of the cows.


Author(s):  
R. W. J. Steen

Two randomised-block experiments have been carried out to examine the relative feeding value of wheat and barley as supplements to grass silage for finishing beef cattle. In each experiment unwilted, formic acid-treated silage was offered ad libitum and supplemented with 500 g soyabean meal and 50 g minerals and vitamins to 44 twelve month old bulls for 157 and 172 days in experiments 1 and 2 respectively. In addition 12 animals received 2.5 kg rolled spring barley (LB), 12 received 4.0 kg barley (HB) and 20 received 3.25 kg rolled wheat (W). Silage was offered once daily and concentrates twice daily in two equal meals.Eleven British Friesian bulls and thirty-three bulls which were Friesian x Continental beef breed were used in each experiment. They were initially 402 and 385 kg live weight in experiments 1 and 2 respectively. In both experiments the animals were housed and fed in groups of four in slatted pens. All animals were slaughtered at the end of the experiments to obtain carcass data.


Author(s):  
J J Hyslop ◽  
D J Roberts

In a previous experiment outlined at last year's conference (Hyslop and Roberts, 1988), it was demonstrated that replacement of a proprietary pelleted concentrate with malt distillers grains (draff), should be limited to 15% of total dry matter intake (DMI) when draff is offered in two feeds per day. However there is little evidence to validate such a limitation when draff is used as a concentrate replacement in complete diets. This experiment examined the effect of replacing barley/soya with draff plus additional minerals in silage based complete diets.In a cyclic changeover design experiment consisting of 4 three week periods, fifteen British Friesian cows in early lactation were offered five treatments. Cows were given ad libitum access to one of five complete diets based on grass silage (69 “D”). Draff plus additional minerals gradually replaced barley/soya at increasing rates in diets 0-4 respectively.


1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 ◽  
pp. 94-94
Author(s):  
J.M. Moorby ◽  
S. Miles ◽  
R.T. Evans ◽  
W.J. Fisher ◽  
D.W.R. Davies

Increases in yields of milk and milk protein have been observed from dairy cows offered a high protein supplement during the dry period (Van Saun, Idleman and Sniffen, 1993; Moorby, Dewhurst and Marsden, 1996). One possible mechanism for this is an accumulation of maternal body protein during late pregnancy and its later release during lactation. This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of diet on the potential of dairy cows to accumulate and release body nitrogen over the course of the dry period and the first 20 weeks of lactation.Twelve multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows were offered one of three diets for 6 weeks prior to calving, with 4 animals per diet, in an continuous design experiment. Animals were offered ad libitum access to A) grass silage only (medium protein), B) a grass silage/barley straw mix (60:40 on a dry matter basis) (low protein), or C) grass silage plus 0.5 kg/d high protein maize gluten meal (high protein). After calving, all animals were offered a standard lactation diet based on ad libitum grass silage plus 10 kg/d concentrate to week 12 of lactation, with 7 kg/d thereafter. Animals were housed in individual stalls for 6 d N-balance procedures on three separate occasions in two groups of six animals: during the dry period (at approximately 3 to 4 weeks before calving), early-lactation (weeks 7 to 8 after calving) and mid-lactation (weeks 17 to 18).


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 309-309
Author(s):  
Stefania Pancini ◽  
John Currin ◽  
Jamie L Stewart ◽  
Sherrie Clark ◽  
Tracey Redifer ◽  
...  

Abstract This study evaluated the effect of an injectable multi-mineral complex supplementation on grazing beef cows on subsequent offspring birth weight (BW) and adjusted weaning weight (AWW). Experiment 1 included 1,128 Angus crossbred multiparous suckled cows, from 9 locations in Virginia, that were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: 1) One dose of an injectable trace mineral (6 mL; Multimin® 90, Multimin USA, Ft. Collins, CO) at 71.4±16.8 d of lactation (n = 560); or 2) a negative control with no trace mineral injection (n = 568). In experiment 2, 986 Angus crossbred multiparous suckled cows, at 7 locations in Virginia, were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: 1) Two doses of an injectable trace mineral (6 mL; Multimin® 90) at 118.3±17 days before calving and at 67.7±17.4 d of lactation (n = 494); or 2) negative control with no trace mineral injection (n = 492). All cows had ad libitum access to forage and water, and received additional mineral supplementation in form of mineral blocks. Calves were weaned at approximately 7 months of age, and 205-day AWW was calculated based on birth day, age of weaning and age of dam. No differences between treatments were detected for BW (33.7±1.01 kg; P = 0.50) and AWW (212.2±5.0 kg; P = 0.25) when only one dose of injectable trace mineral was administered to the dam at early lactation. Similarly, when two doses of injectable trace mineral were administrated BW (35.6±1.1 kg; P = 0.70) and AWW (259.4±6.1 kg; P = 0.83) did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, one or two doses of injectable trace mineral administrated at late gestation and/or during lactation had no effect on offspring BW and AWW.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Sarah Carr ◽  
Yang Jia ◽  
Benjamin Crites ◽  
Charles Hamilton ◽  
Walter Burris ◽  
...  

Soils with marginal to deficient levels of selenium (Se) are widespread in the northwest, northeast, and southeast US. Supplementation to the diet of forage-grazing beef cattle with a vitamin-mineral mix containing additional Se is recommended in these geographic regions. We have reported that the form of supplemental Se provided to Angus-cross beef cows can affect circulating levels of progesterone (P4) on day 6 of the estrous cycle, a time when increased P4 is known to promote fertility. The objectives of this study were to (1) confirm and expand upon our initial report that the form of Se provided to cows affects early luteal-phase concentrations of systemic P4, (2) determine the effects of the form of Se on concentrations of P4 during gestation, and (3) determine the effects of the form of Se on concentrations of prolactin (PRL) during lactation. Throughout this study, Angus-cross beef cows had ad libitum access to a vitamin-mineral mix containing 35 ppm of Se in either an inorganic form (ISe) or a 1:1 mix of inorganic and organic forms (MIX). We observed a MIX-induced increase (p = 0.006) in systemic concentrations of P4 on day 7 but not on days 4 or 10 of the estrous cycle, consistent with our earlier report. We observed a MIX-induced increase (p = 0.02) in the systemic concentration of P4 at months 1, 3, 5, and 7 of gestation, and a MIX-induced decrease (p < 0.05) in systemic concentrations of PRL at months 5 and 6 of lactation. In summary, the form of Se provided to cows can be manipulated to affect the early luteal phase and gestational concentrations of P4, and postpartum concentrations of PRL.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A. Small ◽  
E. Charmley ◽  
A. V. Rodd ◽  
A. H. Fredeen

A study was undertaken to examine serum mineral concentrations in relation to estrus and first service conception (FSC) in beef cattle fed conserved forage. Blood samples were taken from yearling nulliparous heifers, and suckled 2-yr-old primiparous heifers and multiparous cows at first service which occurred within 12 h of observed standing heat and 21 d after. Serum was analyzed for calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sulfur (S), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and boron (B) concentrations by ICAP. Heifers were fed in four groups based on parity and given 3.0 and 2.5 kg hd d–1 of a grain supplement, respectively, plus free-choice grass hay (1.71% K; 0.20% P; 8% protein; 41% ADF). Cows were individually fed ad libitum (21 g kg–1 body weight) grass-legume silage (2.82% K; 0.35% P; 14% protein, 34% ADF). Heifers and cows gained body weight over the breeding season and at turnout had body condition scores of 5 to 6 for heifers and 6 to 7 for cows. Rates of FSC were 53% (10/19), 48% (10/21) and 64% (18/28) for nulli-, primi- and multiparous groups, respectively. Serum Ca, Na, S, Cu, Fe, Zn and Mn did not differ (P > 0.05) between FSC groups, but Na and Cu were higher (P < 0.05) at estrus than at day 21, especially in nulliparous heifers. Concentrations of serum Mg were low (<0.74 mmol L–1) and K high (>4.5 mmol L–1) in heifers and cows but in nulliparous heifers only, serum Mg and K were lowest (P < 0.05) at estrus for those that conceived. Serum B concentrations were generally higher (P < 0.05) in animals that conceived especially on day 21 when B concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) than at estrus. Serum P concentrations were high (>3.5 mmol L–1), but highest in animals that conceived especially on day 21. It is concluded that P and B may be dietary factors limiting first service conception in beef cows fed conserved forage. Key words: Beef cattle, estrus, conception, minerals, boron, phosphorus


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