SUPPLEMENTATION FOR RED ANGUS X NELLORE STEERS RAISED ON TROPICAL PASTURES DURING WET SEASON
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5216/cab.v13i1.9046Keywords:
Beef catleAbstract
This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of proteic-energetic supplementation for Red Angus x Nellore steers raised on Brachiaria purpurascens (Henr. Blumea) tropical pastures during the wet season. Thirty-two steers were used to form four groups containing eight animals each. The experimental treatments were: (1) control (commercial mineral mix); (2) concentrate (concentrate ration, formulated to ensure a gain of 1.10 kg/day), and (3) proteic-energetic supplement containing whether corn (SCC) or (4) wheat midllings (SCWM). Daily weight gain, supplement intake, income over feed costs and the frequency of water trough access were assessed. The supplement intake was 0.076, 2.77, 0.74 and 0.86 kg/steer/day for the control, concentrate, SCC and SCWM groups, respectively. There were no differences in the daily weight gain amongst the control, SCC and SCWM groups and the concentrate group had the highest daily weight gain. The animals that received SCC had the highest income over feed costs and the concentrate group had the lowest one. Proteic-energetic supplementation during the wet season can, numerically, improve the daily weight gain, but this nutritional strategy must be done with caution to avoid economic losses.
KEYWORDS: beef cattle; protein-energy supplementation; tropical grasses.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).