The nutritional interrelationship between the growing and finishing phases in crossbred cattle raised in a tropical system

Abstract

This study evaluated the nutritional interrelationship between the growing and finishing phases of crossbred cattle in determining their performance. One hundred and eight animals were used (8 months old, body weight [BW] 211 ± 20 kg). During the dry season, the animals received one of the following supplements: a mineral plus urea supplement (ad libitum, MSD), a protein supplement (1 g/kg BW per day, PR1), or a protein-energy supplement (5 g/kg BW per day, PE). During the rainy season, the animals received one of the following supplements: a mineral without urea supplement (ad libitum, MSR), a protein supplement (1 g/kg BW per day, PR2), or PE (5 g/kg BW per day). The experimental design was completely randomized using a 3 × 3 factorial scheme (for the rainy season) and a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial scheme (for the finishing phase). The supplementation and finishing systems were considered to be the treatments, and the animals were considered to be the experimental units. Dry season supplementation did not affect the average daily gain (ADG) during the rainy season (P = 0.12) or the finishing phase (P = 0.73). An increase in the level of rainy season supplementation reduced ADG by 12% during the finishing phase (P < 0.06). Providing PE during the dry and rainy seasons led to the animals being slaughtered 17 (P = 0.06) and 30 (P < 0.01) days earlier, respectively. Our results indicate that supplementation during the dry season (under poor-quality pasture conditions) does not affect the performance during the rainy season or the finishing phase. Furthermore, while providing PE during the rainy season can reduce ADG during finishing, the higher BW at the beginning of the finishing phase is sufficient to reduce the time of the finishing period.

Does virginiamycin supplementation affect the metabolism and performance of Nellore bulls grazing under low and high gain rates?

“…In pasture systems, different gain rates can be obtained with supplementation (Roth et al., ; Sampaio et al., ) or by altering the grazing height, which is a management method used under tropical pastures (Barbero et al., ; Da Silva et al., ). Furthermore, this method affects forage mass (Barbero et al., ), a variable important for the prediction of beef grazing production; it affects forage intake and thus animal gain rate (Barbero et al., ; Da Silva et al., ).…”

Determining the optimal dose of virginiamycin for ruminal parameters and performance of Nellore cattle on pasture

“…Contrasts significant at P < 0.05 and trends were defined as 0.05 ≤ P < 0.10. 4 Carcass transfer: relationship between carcass gain and body weight gain (adapted from SAMPAIO et al, 2017).…”

“…The carcass gain was obtained by applying the formula: carcass gain = (final HCWinitial HCW) ÷ (number of days of the experiment period). The carcass transfer was calculated using the formula: carcass transfer = [(final HCW -initial HCW) ÷ (final fasting BW -initial fasting BW)] × 100, adapted from Sampaio et al (2017).…”

Transferência de tecnologias zootécnicas a agricultores familiares no município de Espinosa/MG

“…A produção animal baseia-se no uso de plantas forrageiras como fonte de nutrientes para os animais em sistemas de extrativismos, com médio/baixo ou nenhum nível tecnológico. Assim como no Brasil Central (SAMPAIO et al, 2017), a produção de forrageiras na região semiárida não é constante ao longo do ano (RIGUEIRA et al, 2018), o que reflete diretamente na oferta constante de produtos como leite Página 85 de 139 e carne e outros no mercado consumidor. Alguns produtores distribuídos nas 92 comunidades do município de Espinosa conservam forragem na forma de silagem e/ou fenação para suplementar os animais nos períodos da seca.…”