Performance of young bulls fed with corn silage or oat hay and dried grain or ensiled corn

• Autor(a) principal: Costa, Ciniro
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Arrigoni, Mário de Beni, Silveira, Antonio Carlos, Oliveira, Henrique Nunes de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Acta Scientiarum. Animal Sciences (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://www.periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/ActaSciAnimSci/article/view/2585
• topic: consumo; conversão alimentar; rendimento de carcaça; cobertura de gordura; grãos úmidos de milho; 5.04.00.00-2 Zootecnia

The aim of this experiment was to study the nutritive value of two roughages and of dry or ensiled corn grain, fed to crossbred Simmental x Nellore cattle, kept on feedlot. A 2 x 2 factorial (two roughages: corn silage or oat hay and two forms of preserved corn grain: dried or ensiled) was used, in a completely randomized design, with fourteen replicates. The diets were fed ad libitum, in two daily meals (8:00 AM and 3:00 PM). The animals were weighed before morning meal every 28 days; they were not fed in the previous afternoon. A period effect and forage x concentrate interaction on cumulative body weight were observed. Regardless of roughage source, wet grain silage produced higher (P < 0.05) daily weight gain (1.23±0.28 kg) when compared to dry ground corn grain (1.14±0.30 kg). No difference was observed among treatments concerning final weight and dressing percentage, but back fat was thicker (P < 0.05) in the animals receiving corn silage as roughage. Regardless of roughage source (corn silage or oat hay), ensiling is the most efficient form of preserving corn grain for feedlot animals.