Growth rate, body composition, and meat tenderness in early vs. traditionally weaned beef calves1,2

Meyer, Donald L.; Kerley, M. S.; Walker, Elizabeth L.; Keisler, D. H.; Pierce, Vern L.; Schmidt, Ty B; Stahl, C.A.; Linville, M. L.; Berg, E. P.

doi:10.2527/2005.83122752x

Cited by 48 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Early-weaned calves had heavier carcasses with a concomitant improvement of dressing percentage and fatness score, as had already been reported in other studies (Fluharty et al, 2000;Meyer et al, 2005;Blanco et al, 2007). However, Fluharty et al (2000) also reported an improvement of carcass grade with early weaning, which did not appear in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The fact that early-weaned calves, being already adapted to intensive feeding, had higher intakes than traditionally weaned calves during the first month of the finishing phase had already been reported (Fluharty et al, 2000;Meyer et al, 2005). The studies cited above also reported a higher intake of traditionally weaned steers in the second to fourth month of the finishing phase, although in the current study differences were only significant during the third month.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Barker-Neef et al (2001), Schoonmaker et al (2001) and Meyer et al (2005) had reported that early and traditionally weaned steers presented similar pH, toughness and maximum stress. On the other hand, the differences in meat chemical composition found in the current study are negligible due to their small magnitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of pre-weaning concentrate feeding on calf performance, carcass and meat quality of autumn-born bull calves weaned at 90 or 150 days of age

Alibés

Mata

Ripoll

et al. 2008

Animal

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A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pre-weaning concentrate feeding in early-weaned (EW, day 90) or traditionally weaned (TW, day 150) autumn-born beef calves on growth, feed intake and feed efficiency, and carcass and meat quality. Twenty-eight male calves were either EW or TW, and offered a starter concentrate (S) or no additional feed (NS) during the pre-weaning period. Therefore, four management strategies were tested: EWS, EWNS, TWS and TWNS. Growth patterns were affected by management strategy. From day 90 to 150, TWNS calves presented a substantially lower average daily gain (ADG) than their counterparts, which had similar performance. During the finishing phase (from day 150 to slaughter at 450 kg live weight), EWS calves had the lowest ADG. Daily feed intake or efficiency in the finishing phase was unaffected by previous management. Serum IGF-I concentrations at day 90 and slaughter did not differ with management strategy, but early weaning and pre-weaning concentrate feeding increased IGF-I concentrations at day 150. Circulating leptin concentrations were unaffected by age at weaning and pre-weaning concentrate feeding, except for leptin concentrations at slaughter, which were higher in S calves than in NS calves. Total concentrate intake from birth to slaughter and the concomitant feed costs were higher for EWS and EWNS calves than for TWNS and TWS ones. However, cow feed costs were lower for cows whose calves had been early weaned. Concerning carcass quality, early weaning improved dressing percentage and increased fatness score, and particularly TWNS calves presented a poorer conformation. Meat quality was not affected by management strategy. Considering the economic performance, TWS, EWNS and EWS strategies yielded a similar economic margin, whereas TWNS would be the least advisable strategy when calves are fattened in the farm until slaughter.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

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Effects of pre-weaning concentrate feeding on calf performance, carcass and meat quality of autumn-born bull calves weaned at 90 or 150 days of age

Alibés

Mata

Ripoll

et al. 2008

Animal

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“…Alternative beef production systems, including reducing age at slaughter, may result in younger, higher marbled beef, but with lower carcass weights and smaller steak portion size (Schoonmaker et al, 2002). However, the effects on meat tenderness have been inconsistent (Klopfenstein et al, 2000;Schoonmaker et al, 2002;Meyer et al, 2005). Anabolic implants are used in the beef industry to improve growth rates and feed efficiency during finishing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the relative contribution of ante- and post-mortem factors to the variability in beef texture

Juárez

Basarab

Baron

et al. 2012

Animal

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This study aims to investigate the relative contribution of ante-and post-mortem factors to the final quality of beef. In all, 112 steers (four breed-crosses) were arranged in a 2 3 2 3 2 factorial experimental including production system, growth implant and b-adrenergic agonist strategies. Carcasses were suspended by the Achilles tendon or the aitch bone and meat was aged for 2/6/13/21/27 days (longissimus muscle) or 2/27 days (semimembranosus muscle). Meat quality traits related to beef texture were measured. Statistical analyses were developed including ante-and post-mortem factors and their relative contribution to the variability observed for each measured trait was calculated. The main factor responsible for the variability in sarcomere length was the suspension method (91.1%), which also influenced drip-loss (44.3%). Increasing the percentage of British breeds increased (P , 0.05) the intramuscular fat content in longissimus muscle, but only when implants were not used. Thus, the breed-cross, implant strategy and their interaction were responsible for .58% of the variability in this trait. The variability in instrumental and sensory tenderness was mainly affected by post-mortem factors (carcass suspension, ageing time and their interaction), explaining generally , 70% of the variability in these traits. Breed-cross was the second most important effect ( ,15%) when carcass suspension was not considered in the model, but still ageing time was responsible for a much larger proportion of the variability in tenderness (.45%). In conclusion, post-mortem handling of the carcasses may be much more effective in controlling beef tenderness than pre-mortem strategies.Keywords: ageing, b-agonist, carcass suspension, finishing, implant ImplicationsUnder the conditions simulated in this study, including breed-cross, production system, use of implants and/or b-agonists, carcass suspension and ageing time in a single study has been able to explain more than 70% of the variability in beef tenderness. Therefore, a large amount of the inconsistency in beef tenderness at the consumer level could be controlled by manipulating these factors. Moreover, the large amount of variability already explained and the possibility of quantifying the impact of each factor on the final tenderness opens the door to a new way of approaching beef quality manipulation. Besides the potential use of this information for breeding programs or development of new production systems, understanding the effect and interactions of the different factors present in the production chain is the first step in developing palatability assurance critical control point systems.

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“…Weaning at 30 to 45 days [3] or 80 to 150 days postpartum [2,4,5] improved efficiency and was economical [3] when forage quality and/or quantity were inadequate. Early-weaned calves gained more efficiently and yielded greater quality USDA grades than traditionally weaned calves [6,7] at finishing [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of forage-based weaning systems in spring-born cross-bred beef calves

Odhiambo¹,

Dailey²,

Helmondollar³

et al. 2013

OJAS

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Preconditioned calves have greater market value per unit weight than normal-weaned calves. Development of a low cost forage-based preconditioning system allows producers to add value to their calf-crop. This study evaluated calf performance in three forage-based weaning systems; early-weaned calves were backgrounded in legume/grass forage plots and supplemented with commercial preconditioning feed (Treatment 1) or an on-farm corn-mix (Treatment 2). Control (Treatment 3) calves suckled for an additional 45 days. Supplements provided 2.17 kg TDN/calf/ day. Weights were collected on days 30, 0 and 45 with respect to early weaning, from 135 in year 1 and 150 calves in each of the two subsequent years. Effects of treatment, age of dam, sex of calf and their interactions on calf weight gain were analyzed by analysis of covariance using GLM procedures of SAS. Marginal effects of treatment and feed cost were used to evaluate economic feasibility. Sensitivity analyses were evaluated for anticipated market fluctuations in feed costs and calf premiums. Data are reported as least squares means. Calf weight gains differed (P < 0.001) among treatments and averaged 1.16, 1.03 and 1.04 kg/calf/day for commercial supplement, corn-mix and controls, respectively. Calves from 2-year-old cows gained less (P < 0.001) weight compared to those from cows 3 -4 and ≥5 years of age (44.8, 48.9 and 51.5 kg, respectively). Steers calves gained more (P < 0.001) weight compared to heifer calves (51.2 vs. 45.7 kg, respectively). Net returns for corn mix were greater than those for commercial feed ($1.48 vs. $1.35/kg weight gain, respectively). Sensitivity analyses indicated that selection of preconditioning treatment to a large degree was less sensitive to significant changes in market conditions due to the large gap in marginal costs between the two treatments. In conclusion, forage-based weaning systems can be utilized to precondition calves providing an economical means for calf weight gain and profit potential as long as feed costs are held within reasonable limits.

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Growth rate, body composition, and meat tenderness in early vs. traditionally weaned beef calves1,2

Cited by 48 publications

References 21 publications

Effects of pre-weaning concentrate feeding on calf performance, carcass and meat quality of autumn-born bull calves weaned at 90 or 150 days of age

Effects of pre-weaning concentrate feeding on calf performance, carcass and meat quality of autumn-born bull calves weaned at 90 or 150 days of age

Quantifying the relative contribution of ante- and post-mortem factors to the variability in beef texture

Evaluation of forage-based weaning systems in spring-born cross-bred beef calves

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