<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The aim of this study was to determine the effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of 38 young crossbred bull calves. The calves were raised naturally with nurse cows (NC) or were fed milk replacer (MF) until 150 days of age. During the rearing period the NC calves were healthier and had higher average daily gain (by 0.15 kg) compared to the MF calves. After a 30-day transition period, the animals were fattened in intensive (I) and semi-intensive (SI) systems from 181 to 560 days of age. During the fattening period, the bulls were fed ad libitum a total mixed ration (TMR) composed of grass silage and concentrate. The concentrate to silage ratio, on a DM basis, was 25:75 (SI) and 40:60 (I). The MF calves had lower BW at the end of the fattening period compared to the NC calves but the rearing system had no effects on daily gain during the fattening period. Compensatory growth was not observed during fattening. During the fattening period, a higher proportion of concentrate in the ration contributed to higher feed intake, higher feed efficiency and more desirable carcass characteristics. Three-rib cuts from the carcasses of the I bulls had significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher fat content and lower bone content compared to the carcasses of the SI bulls. The longissimus thoracis muscle of the I bulls had higher (P&lt;0.01) intramuscular fat content compared to the SI bulls.</p></abstract>

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of 38 young crossbred bull calves. The calves were raised naturally with nurse cows (NC) or were fed milk replacer (MF) until 150 days of age. During the rearing period the NC calves were healthier and had higher average daily gain (by 0.15 kg) compared to the MF calves. After a 30-day transition period, the animals were fattened in intensive (I) and semi-intensive (SI) systems from 181 to 560 days of age. During the fattening period, the bulls were fed ad libitum a total mixed ration (TMR) composed of grass silage and concentrate. The concentrate to silage ratio, on a DM basis, was 25:75 (SI) and 40:60 (I). The MF calves had lower BW at the end of the fattening period compared to the NC calves but the rearing system had no effects on daily gain during the fattening period. Compensatory growth was not observed during fattening. During the fattening period, a higher proportion of concentrate in the ration contributed to higher feed intake, higher feed efficiency and more desirable carcass characteristics. Three-rib cuts from the carcasses of the I bulls had significantly (P<0.05) higher fat content and lower bone content compared to the carcasses of the SI bulls. The longissimus thoracis muscle of the I bulls had higher (P<0.01) intramuscular fat content compared to the SI bulls.

Effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of young crossbred bulls

Annals of Animal Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of 38 young...

Effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of young crossbred bulls

Article Category: Behavior, well-being, production technology, and environment

Published Online: Aug 01, 2018

Page range: 835 - 847

Received: Nov 08, 2017

Accepted: Apr 25, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2018-0022

Keywords
beef, nurse cow, crossbred, carcass characteristics, cattle fattening

© 2018 Zenon Nogalski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Effects of rearing system and feeding intensity on the fattening performance and slaughter value of young crossbred bulls

Article Category: Behavior, well-being, production technology, and environment

Published Online: Aug 01, 2018

Page range: 835 - 847

Received: Nov 08, 2017

Accepted: Apr 25, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2018-0022

Keywordsbeef, nurse cow, crossbred, carcass characteristics, cattle fattening

© 2018 Zenon Nogalski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
beef, nurse cow, crossbred, carcass characteristics, cattle fattening