The Influence of Residual Feed Intake and Cow Age on Beef Cattle Performance, Supplement Intake, Resource Use, and Grazing Behavior on Winter Mixed-Grass Rangelands

Autor: Cory T. Parsons, Julia M. Dafoe, Samuel A. Wyffels, Timothy DelCurto, Darrin L. Boss
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Animals, Vol 11, Iss 6, p 1518 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-2615
DOI: 10.3390/ani11061518
Popis: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of RFI and cow age on the supplement intake and grazing behavior of beef cattle. Average daily supplement intake (kg/cow/d) displayed an RFI × cow age interaction (p < 0.01), with a linear increase in average daily supplement intake with increasing RFI of 3-year-old cows (p < 0.01). Average daily supplement intake (g ∙ kg BW−1 ∙ d−1) displayed an RFI × cow age interaction (p < 0.01), with a quadratic effect on supplement intake of 3-year-old cows (p = 0.01). Cow age displayed a quadratic effect on variation of supplement intake (p < 0.01), where 1-year-old cows had a greater CV of supplement intake than all other cow ages (p < 0.01). Distance traveled displayed a cow age × RFI interaction (p = 0.02), where high-RFI 5-year-old cows traveled further per day than low 5-year-old RFI cows. The probability of grazing site selection was influenced by cow age (p ≤ 0.03). In summary, heifer post-weaning RFI had minimal effects on beef cattle performance, grazing behavior, or resource utilization; however, cow age impacted both grazing behavior and resource use.
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