Influence of supplementation with corn dried distillers grains plus solubles to growing calves fed medium-quality hay on growth performance and feeding behavior1

Abstract

To determine the effect of increasing supplementation of corn dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on growth performance and feeding behavior, 70 steer calves (287 ± 10 kg of BW) were blocked by BW to 3 pens equipped with Insentec feeders. For 84 d, calves were fed medium-quality grass/legume hay offered for ad libitum intake and provided 1 of 3 dietary supplemental treatments (n = 7 or 8 steers per treatment within each pen; n = 23 or 24 per treatment): 1) nothing, 2) DDGS at 0.5% of BW daily (DM basis), and 3) DDGS at 1% of BW daily (DM basis). Hay intake (kg/d and % of BW daily) decreased linearly (P < 0.001) as DDGS supplementation increased. Total DMI (kg/d and % of BW) increased linearly (P < 0.001) with DDGS supplementation. Average daily gain and gain efficiency (G:F) responded quadratically (P ≤ 0.006) as G:F increased to a lesser extent when DDGS supplementation increased from 0.5 to 1% than from 0 to 0.5%. Meals (number per day) and time eating per meal for hay and total diet decreased linearly (P ≤ 0.006) with increasing DDGS supplementation. Time eating per day for hay responded quadratically (P < 0.001) and decreased to a greater extent when increasing from 0 to 0.5% DDGS supplementation than from 0.5 to 1% DDGS. Feed intake per minute (eating rate) for hay and total diet increased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with increasing DDGS supplementation. On d 84, LM area, back fat thickness, and rump fat thickness increased linearly (P ≤ 0.006) with increasing DDGS supplementation. There were significant day × treatment interactions (P < 0.001) for plasma glucose and urea-N concentrations. Glucose did not change over the feeding period in control steers but increased in both supplemented groups. Urea-N decreased for control steers over the feeding period whereas urea-N increased in supplemented steers. In conclusion, supplementation of DDGS in amounts of 0.5 or 1% of BW daily can be used to reduce hay intake and improve ADG and G:F in growing steers fed medium-quality hay. Additionally, DDGS supplementation alters feeding behavior.

Influence of feeding direct-fed microbial supplementation on growth performance and feeding behavior in naturally fed and conventionally fed finishing cattle with different dietary adaptation periods

“…Radio frequency ID tags were placed in the right ear of each steer prior to the beginning of the experiment. Each pen contained 8 Insentec electronic feeding stations (Hokofarm Group, Marknesse, The Netherlands) as described previously (Mader et al, 2009;Islas et al, 2014;Swanson et al, 2014) allowing for offering specific dietary treatments and monitoring of individual feed intake and feeding behavior characteristics. Steers were adapted to the Insentec feeding system over 2 wk and were fed a 50% concentrate receiving diet without monensin or tylosin.…”

“…Dry matter intake per day and feeding behavior traits were summarized (Montanholi et al, 2010;Islas et al, 2014) as follows: events (number of bunk visits and meals daily), eating time (minutes; per visit, per meal, and per day), and feed intake (kg; per visit, per meal, and per minute) and these data were summarized as the average of each individual over the total feeding period. A visit was defined as each time the Insentec system detected a steer at a bunk.…”

Influence of Grain Source and Dried Corn Distillers Grains Plus Solubles Oil Concentration on Finishing Cattle Performance and Feeding Behavior

“…Radio-frequency ID tags were placed in the right ear before the experiment. Each pen contained eight electronic feeding stations (Hokofarm Group, B.V., Marknesse, the Netherlands) as described by Mader et al (2009) and Islas et al (2013) allowing for offering specific dietary treatments and monitoring individual feed intake and feeding behavior characteristics. Each experimental diet was provided in two feeders per pen.…”

Influence of dry-rolled corn processing and increasing dried corn distillers grains plus solubles inclusion for finishing cattle on growth performance and feeding behavior1

“…Radio frequency ID tags were placed in the right ear before the experiment. Each pen contained 8 Insentec electronic feeding stations (Inesentec, B. V., Marknesse, The Netherlands) as described by Mader et al (2009) and Islas et al (2013) allowing for offering specific dietary treatments and monitoring of individual feed intake and feeding behavior characteristics. Each experimental diet was provided in 2 feeders per pen.…”