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Efficiency of Utilization for Fattening of the Metabolizable Energy of Molasses-Based Diets

Instituto De Ciencia Animal, Apartado 24, San Jose De Las Lajas, Habana, Cuba

Abstract

The efficiency of utilization of ME for fattening in molasses based diets was determined using 106 Brahman bulls in a comparative slaughter experiment. The values obtained for diets with 33 and 72% of the ME intake as molasses were 15.1 to 20.0 and 25.8 to 32.4%, respectively. These represent only some 40 and 60%, respectively, of the expected values for these diets according to their ME concentration.

Similar calculations on a variety of published data revealed that only in young animals was the expected efficiency obtained. In animals over 16 mo. the observed efficiency was some 60 to 70% of the expected, regardless of the composition of the diet. Some reasons for these discrepancies are discussed.

Our findings do not support the claim that increasing the molasses content of the diet leads to a decrease in its efficiency of utilization.

^* The authors acknowledge the constructive suggestions of their colleague Dr. T. M. Sutherland in the preparation of this manuscript.