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Fish-meal supplementation of grass silage given to young growing steers: effect on intake, apparent digestibility and live-weight gains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. Sanderson ,
C. Thomas  and
A. B. McAllan
R. Sanderson
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley Research Station, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
C. Thomas
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr KA6 5HW
A. B. McAllan
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley Research Station, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
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Abstract

Seventy-two, 4-month-old, British Friesian steers were used to investigate the effects of feeding a supplement of fish meal on the voluntary intake and live-weight gain by young growing cattle given a well preserved ryegrass silage. The silage was offered either alone or mixed with 50,100 or 150 g fish meal per kg silage dry matter (DM) and the diets were offered either ad libitum or intakes were restricted to 16, 19 or 22 g dietary DM per kg live weight (LW). Intakes were recorded daily, LW weekly and in vivo apparent digestibility over one 7-day period during the 132-day trial.

For animals fed ad libitum, the absolute intake of dietary DM increased linearly with an increase in the level of fish-meal supplementation such that intake when the highest level of fish meal was given was significantly higher (P < 0·01) than when silage was given alone. However, DM intake per unit LW (approx. 24 g DM per kg LW) was not affected significantly (P > 0·05).

Inclusion of fish meal in the diet did not affect the apparent digestibility of dietary DM, organic matter, acid-detergent or neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) although there was a trend for slightly higher (P > 0·05) gross energy apparent digestibility when fish meal was given. Increasing the level of feeding reduced NDF digestibility. The coefficients measured at the 22 g and ad libitum levels of intake were lower (P < 0·01 and P < 0·05 respectively) than that measured at the 16 g DM per kg LW level.

Animals given silage alone to appetite achieved LW gains of 0·6 kg/day. LW gains increased linearly with increasing level of feeding (P < 0·001) and increasing level offish-meal supplementation (P < 0·001).

Keywords

fish mealfood intakegrass silagelive-weight gainsteers
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , December 1992 , pp. 389 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1992

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