The use of high-protein feeds by hvestock feeders to supplement the protein of many common roughages for beef cattle is a general practice based on sound nutrition principles. Protein supplements, as a rule, effect a marked increase in the feed intake of animals on fibrous rations. By providing a better nutrient balance in a ration they increase the efficiency of utilization of the major feed n...

Feedlot performance was studied in a 262-d trial using 126 crossbred beef steers (182 kg initial BW) to determine whether source of dietary roughage influences performance and carcass characteristics by steers fed growing (112 d) and finishing (150 d) diets with various flake densities (FD) of steam-processed sorghum grain. A 3 x 3 arrangement of treatments (two pens of seven steers each) was u...

1. Sheep were given 800 g low-protein roughage/d at 2 h intervals and infused intraruminally with 0,500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1500 or 2000 mmol sodium chloride/d in 436 ml water. The digestibility of various food fractions and rumen ammonia, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and liquid turnover rate were measured, along with renal haemodynamics and the renal excretory patterns of nitrogen and electrolytes...

Our objective was to study the effect of different roughage sources produced in a tropical environment on intake, digestibility, and ruminal parameters of crossbred bulls. Five rumen-fistulated 30-mo-old Holstein × Bos indicus bulls (average BW =459 ± 32.5 kg) were utilized in a 5 × 5 randomized Latin square design. The experiment consisted of five 19-d experimental periods (10 d for adaptation...

Poor-quality roughages are widely used as fiber sources in concentrate-based diets for ruminants. Because roughage quality is associated with the efficiency of energy use in forage-based diets, the objective of this study was to determine whether differing the roughage source in concentrate-based diets could change the energy requirements of growing lambs. Eighty-four 1/2 Dorper × 1/2 Santa Inê...

Diet-related disorders occur frequently in captive browsing ruminants. To assess current feeding practices, diets of 15 captive greater kudus (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) from three zoological collec-tions were compared to that of free-ranging conspecifics and current feeding recommendations. Dry matter intake (DMI) varied considerably in captivity from 49.2 to 75.7 g dry matter kg BM-0.75 d-1. R...

Data were collected on 130 intact male lambs fed diets based on roughages supplemented with fish meal, soybean meal, or corn gluten-blood meal and slaughtered at 43 kg live weight. A nonsupplemented group served as a control. The lambs represented Romanov (R), Finnsheep (F), a new breed developed in Canada (DLS), Coopworth (C), and Suffolk (S), three first crosses of DLS with R, F, and Booroola...

Liver abscesses are the primary liver abnormality of feedlot cattle at slaughter. The incidence of liver abscesses is highly variable, but generally ranges from 10% to 20%. The incidence of total and the proportion of severely abscessed livers (A+) are greater in Holsteins fed for beef production and culled dairy cows than in beef breeds. The reason for the greater incidence of liver abscesses ...