Marley Christina L, Fychan Rhun, Davies John W, Scollan Nigel D, Richardson R Ian, Theobald Vince J, Genever Elizabeth, Forbes Andy B, Sanderson Ruth
Animal and Microbial Sciences, Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Gogerddan, Ceredigion, United Kingdom.
University of Bristol, Food Science and Food Safety Group, Division of Farm Animal Science (DFAS), Langford, Bristol, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2014 Jan 28;9(1):e86259. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086259. eCollection 2014.
An experiment investigated whether the inclusion of chicory (Cichorium intybus) in swards grazed by beef steers altered their performance, carcass characteristics or parasitism when compared to steers grazing perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Triplicate 2-ha plots were established with a chicory/ryegrass mix or ryegrass control. Forty-eight Belgian Blue-cross steers were used in the first grazing season and a core group (n = 36) were retained for finishing in the second grazing season. The experiment comprised of a standardisation and measurement period. During standardisation, steers grazed a ryegrass/white clover pasture as one group. Animals were allocated to treatment on the basis of liveweight, body condition and faecal egg counts (FEC) determined 7 days prior to the measurement period. The measurement period ran from 25 May until 28 September 2010 and 12 April until 11 October 2011 in the first and second grazing year. Steers were weighed every 14 days at pasture or 28 days during housing. In the first grazing year, faecal samples were collected for FEC and parasite cultures. At the end of the first grazing year, individual blood samples were taken to determine O. ostertagi antibody and plasma pepsinogen levels. During winter, animals were housed as one group and fed silage. In the second grazing year, steers were slaughtered when deemed to reach fat class 3. Data on steer performance showed no differences in daily live-weight gain which averaged 1.04 kg/day. The conformation, fat grade and killing out proportion of beef steers grazing chicory/ryegrass or ryegrass were not found to differ. No differences in FEC, O. ostertagi antibody or plasma pepsinogen levels of beef steers grazing either chicory/ryegrass or ryegrass were observed. Overall, there were no detrimental effects of including chicory in swards grazed by beef cattle on their performance, carcass characteristics or helminth parasitism, when compared with steers grazing ryegrass.
一项实验研究了与放牧多年生黑麦草（Lolium perenne）的肉牛相比，在肉牛放牧的草地中加入菊苣（Cichorium intybus）是否会改变它们的生长性能、胴体特征或寄生虫感染情况。用菊苣/黑麦草混合物或黑麦草对照建立了三个重复的2公顷试验区。在第一个放牧季节使用了48头比利时蓝白花肉牛，并且保留了一组核心肉牛（n = 36）用于第二个放牧季节的育肥。该实验包括一个标准化期和一个测量期。在标准化期间，肉牛作为一个群体放牧黑麦草/白三叶牧场。根据测量期前7天测定的体重、体况和粪便虫卵计数（FEC）将动物分配到不同处理组。第一个放牧年的测量期从2010年5月25日持续到9月28日，第二个放牧年从4月12日持续到10月11日。肉牛每14天在牧场称重一次，在圈舍时每28天称重一次。在第一个放牧年，采集粪便样本进行FEC和寄生虫培养。在第一个放牧年结束时，采集个体血样以测定奥斯特他线虫（O. ostertagi）抗体和血浆胃蛋白酶原水平。冬季，动物作为一个群体圈养并饲喂青贮饲料。在第二个放牧年，当肉牛被认为达到3级肥度时进行屠宰。肉牛生长性能数据显示，平均日增重为1.04千克/天，没有差异。未发现放牧菊苣/黑麦草或黑麦草的肉牛在体型、脂肪等级和屠宰率方面存在差异。在放牧菊苣/黑麦草或黑麦草的肉牛中，未观察到FEC、奥斯特他线虫抗体或血浆胃蛋白酶原水平有差异。总体而言，与放牧黑麦草的肉牛相比，在肉牛放牧的草地中加入菊苣对其生长性能、胴体特征或蠕虫寄生虫感染没有不利影响。
