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Journal of Animal Science, Vol 68, 245-253, Copyright © 1990 by American Society of Animal Science

Daily Dry Matter Intake By Feedlot Cattle: Influence of Breed and Gender

R. B. Hicks 1, F. N. Owens 1, D. R. Gill 1, J. W. Oltjen 1, and R. P. Lake 1

1 Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078

Feed intake records from a large commercial feedlot were analyzed to determine the feed intake differences attributable to gender and breed type. Information was available for daily voluntary DM intake (DMI) of a high-concentrate feedlot diet at 7d intervals from 178 pens of beef heifers and 153 pens of Holstein steers during a 3-yr period (1983 to 1985). Pens held a mean of 118 beef heifers and 115 Holstein steers, for totals of 20,979 and 17,635 cattle. Compared with DMI of beef steers of similar initial weight summarized in a previous paper, DMI for heifers averaged 2% lower, whereas for Holstein steers DMI averaged 12% greater. For analysis, the data for both heifers and Holstein steers were divided by season of entry into the feedlot into the following periods: January 29 through April 30 (winter wheat pasture cattle), May 1 through July 30 (wheat pasture and early intensive grazing program cattle), July 31 through October 29 (grass pasture cattle) and October 30 through January 28 (grass pasture cattle). Beef heifers and Holstein steers exhibited seasonal intake patterns similar to those for beef steers summarized previously. Equations best describing DMI included initial shrunk weight, days on feed and mean DMI from d 8 to d 28 as independent variables. By including mean daily DMI from d 8 to 28 as an independent variable, precision (R2) was increased by .14 to .20 units for heifers and by .10 to .28 units in Holstein steers. Addition of such interim data into intake equations allows feed intake estimates to be customized for an individual pen and should improve accuracy of gain projections for subgroups of cattle.

Key Words: Feedlots • Beef Cattle • Heifers • Holstein-Friesian • Steers • Feed Intake

Submitted on December 19, 1988
Accepted on May 23, 1989






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Copyright © 1990 by the American Society of Animal Science.