Effects of alternate-day feeding of dried distiller's grain plus solubles to forage-fed beef cows in mid- to late gestation1

Abstract

Forty-six nonlactating beef cows were used to examine effects of dried distiller's grains plus solubles (DG) supplementation strategies to cows fed grass hay during mid- to late gestation on BW, ultrasound body composition characteristics, concentrations of serum NEFA and urea, feeding behavior, and calf birth weight. Cows were assigned to dietary treatments in a completely randomized design: 1) control, where hay was fed each day of the week (CON), 2) both hay and DG fed daily during the week (DG7), 3) hay fed daily but DG fed 3 d of the week (DG3), and 4) hay fed 4 d of the week alternating with DG fed on the remaining 3 d (DGA). Hay was offered ad libitum on days it was fed. The DG were fed at 0.40% of BW when offered daily and 0.93% of BW when offered 3 d per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Feed intake was monitored continuously over the 84-d feeding period. Hay intake and total DMI were reduced (P < 0.05) in DGA compared with DG7 and DG3. Gain and G:F were decreased (P < 0.05) for CON compared with other treatments. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed among treatments for change in BCS, intramuscular fat, rib fat, or rump fat from d 1 to 84. On a day when DG7, DG3, and DGA all received DG (Friday), DGA had reduced (P < 0.05) concentrations of urea compared with DG3 and DG7. On a day when only DG7 received DG (Saturday), urea was greater (P < 0.01) for DG3 and DGA compared with DG7, and concentrations of NEFA were greater (P < 0.01) in CON and DGA compared with DG7. On the second consecutive day when only DG7 received DG (Sunday), concentrations of NEFA were less (P < 0.001) for DG7 compared with other treatments. On days when all cows received hay, DGA spent more time eating (P < 0.05) compared with DG7 and DG3. Cows fed DGA had greater (P < 0.05) hay intake per meal and time per meal compared with other treatments. On days when DG7, DG3, and DGA all received DG, cows in the DG3 and DGA treatments had greater (P < 0.05) number of DG meals, time spent eating, intake per meal, and time per meal but a slower (P < 0.05) rate of DG intake compared with DG7. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed in calf birth weights among treatments. The alternate-day feeding strategy reduced hay and total intake, altered concentrations of serum urea and NEFA, and altered feeding behavior compared with other supplementation methods.

Frequency of wet brewers grains supplementation during late gestation of beef cows and its effects on offspring postnatal growth and immunity1

“…Also, BW and BCS change from d 0 to calving did not differ between S3 and S7 cows (P ≥ 0.38; Table 2). Likewise, Klein et al (2014) observed similar BW and BCS change of mid-to late-gestating cows offered free choice access to bromegrass hay and supplemented with dried distillers' grains daily or 3 times weekly (daily supplementation rate = 0.4% of BW, DM basis). Our results agree with others (Drewnoski et al, 2011;Moriel et al, 2012) and also support our previous study that demonstrated that reducing the frequency of WBG supplementation (0.5 or 1.0% of BW, DM basis) from daily to 3 times weekly did not reduce growth of recently weaned beef heifers (Artioli et al, 2016).…”

“…Likewise, Artioli et al (2016) reported similar overall intake of hay DM, total DM, CP, and NEg between recently weaned beef heifers supplemented with WBG (0.5 or 1.0% of BW, DM basis) daily or 3 times weekly. Also, Klein et al (2014) observed similar total and hay DMI of mid-to late-gestating cows offered free choice access to bromegrass hay and supplemented with dried distillers' grains daily or 3 times weekly.…”

The effects on cow performance and calf birth and weaning weight of replacing grass silage with brewers grains in a barley straw diet offered to pregnant beef cows of two different breeds

“…It is also accepted that global (energy) nutrition has a greater impact than protein nutrition (Holland and Odde, ; Greenwood and Café, ) which is contrary to the results reported here. However, recent studies (Stalker et al., ; Martin et al., ; Larson et al., ; Bohnert et al., ; Klein et al., ) in which protein supplements were fed to beef cows in mid/late gestation have reported increases in calf birth and/or weaning BW, although in some cases responses were not significant. In these studies, protein intakes were increased by feeding a supplement to cows grazing low‐quality forage and therefore not only protein but also energy intakes would have increased (e.g.…”

“…In these studies, protein intakes were increased by feeding a supplement to cows grazing low‐quality forage and therefore not only protein but also energy intakes would have increased (e.g. by 1.5‐fold; Klein et al., ). Therefore, responses in cow and calf performance could not be solely attributed to increased protein supply.…”

“…Most recent nutritional studies on pregnant beef cows have been within systems where cows were maintained on pasture (e.g. Café et al., ; Larson et al., ), and therefore, detailed information on individual maternal feed intakes and changes in maternal BW and body condition score (BCS) is only rarely available (Martin et al., ; Klein et al., ). Further, genotypes of beef cow have changed, for example, with the introduction of breeds such as the Luing since current feeding systems for beef cows were last revised (AFRC, ).…”