Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Anim Sci J. 2021 Jan-Dec;92(1):e13547. doi: 10.1111/asj.13547.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding high and low concentrate diets on feed intake and feed efficiency, the morphological characteristics of the rumen papillae, and meat quality of Holstein steers fattened under hot climate conditions in Oman. Ten male Holstein calves, of 5 months of age, were selected for the experiment. The animals were fed concentrate and Rhodes grass hay and were divided into two groups of high concentrate (HC, n = 5) and low concentrate diets (LC, n = 5), in which their feed intake, weight gain, and feed efficiency were evaluated across three growing periods. Feed intake and efficiency and average daily gain (ADG) of the HC group were significantly greater than for the LC group and were affected by the diet (p < .01) and the period (p < .001). Across the fattening periods, ADG declined in both groups, with ADG improved by 35% for steers on the HC diet compared to steers on the LC diet. Carcass meat quality was not affected significantly by the dietary concentrate level. In conclusion, our results can be used to make improvements in feed efficiency of Holstein steers under hot climate conditions.
本研究旨在探讨在阿曼炎热气候条件下，高、低精料饲粮对育肥牛的采食量、饲料效率、瘤胃乳头形态特征和肉质的影响。选择 10 头 5 月龄雄性荷斯坦犊牛进行试验。动物以精料和罗得西亚干草为食，并分为高精料（HC，n=5）和低精料组（LC，n=5），在三个生长阶段评估其采食量、增重和饲料效率。HC 组的采食量、效率和平均日增重（ADG）显著高于 LC 组，且受饲粮（p<.01）和时期（p<.001）的影响。在育肥期间，两组的 ADG 均下降，HC 组的 ADG 比 LC 组提高了 35%。日粮精料水平对胴体肉质无显著影响。总之，本研究结果可用于提高荷斯坦育肥牛在炎热气候条件下的饲料效率。
