Grote Ally, Fanning Tom, DeVuyst Eric A, Grigsby Zane, Crosswhite Justin, Beck Paul
Oklahoma State University Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Stillwater, OK, 74078USA.
Pratt Feeders LLC, Pratt, KS, 67124USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2025 Aug 30;9:txaf118. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaf118. eCollection 2025.
Our objective was to determine the effect of calf-fed () or yearling-fed () finishing systems on performance and carcass characteristics of beef × dairy () crossbred steers compared to native beef () steers. The NB steers ( = 160) were acquired from Capitol Land and Livestock in Schwertner, Texas. The DB steers ( = 184) were acquired from 5-Star Dairy in Hart, Texas. The CF ( = 194) steers were transported directly to a commercial feedyard (Buffalo Feeders, Buffalo, OK) from the source. Steers in the YF system ( = 150) were transported to the Marvin Klemme Research Range, near Bessie, OK, to graze mixed grass prairie for 144-d before finishing. At Buffalo Feeders, steers were sorted by finishing system and breed-type into commercial size pens, so each breed-type × system combination were in a single pen. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.4 Mixed Procedure (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) with individual steer as the experimental unit. For CF, initial finishing BW did not differ for DB and NB (= 0.11), while the initial finishing BW of NBYF was greater (< 0.01) than DBYF due to NBYF steers having greater ADG on pasture. At reimplant, BW of YF steers was greater (< 0.01) than CF steers. The DBYF steers had the greatest overall ADG (< 0.01) with NBCF having the least ADG (< 0.01) with NBYF and DBCF being intermediate. Back-fat thickness (= 0.03) was greatest in NBCF, and DBYF having the least BFT, while DBCF and NBYF were intermediate. Overall liver abscesses had breed-type (< 0.01) and finishing system effects (= 0.01) with DB and YF steers having higher incidence of liver abscesses. Total net return was greatest (< 0.01) in NBYF followed by DBYF, DBCF, and NBCF, respectively. Grazing beef × dairy steers before feedlot finishing can improve animal performance and certain carcass characteristics, but there is still a high incidence of liver abscesses. Since DB systems had intermediate returns, these animals can be competitive to their NB counterparts, but the higher prevalence of liver abscesses needs to be further researched.
我们的目标是确定犊牛育肥（）或周岁牛育肥（）育肥系统对肉牛×奶牛（）杂交阉牛的生产性能和胴体特性的影响，并与本地肉牛（）阉牛进行比较。160头本地肉牛阉牛从得克萨斯州施韦特纳的国会土地和家畜公司购得。184头杂交阉牛从得克萨斯州哈特的五星级奶牛场购得。194头犊牛育肥阉牛从来源地直接运至商业饲养场（俄克拉何马州布法罗市的布法罗饲养场）。周岁牛育肥系统中的150头阉牛被运至俄克拉何马州贝西附近的马文·克莱姆研究牧场，在育肥前在混播草地草原放牧144天。在布法罗饲养场，阉牛按育肥系统和品种类型被分入商业规模的围栏，因此每个品种类型×系统组合都在一个围栏中。数据使用SAS 9.4混合程序（SAS研究所，北卡罗来纳州卡里）进行分析，以个体阉牛作为实验单位。对于犊牛育肥组，杂交阉牛和本地肉牛的初始育肥体重无差异（=0.11），而周岁牛育肥本地肉牛的初始育肥体重高于杂交阉牛（<0.01），因为周岁牛育肥本地肉牛在牧场的平均日增重更高。在再次植入时，周岁牛育肥阉牛的体重高于犊牛育肥阉牛（<0.01）。杂交周岁牛育肥阉牛的总体平均日增重最高（<0.01），本地肉牛犊牛育肥阉牛的总体平均日增重最低（<0.01），周岁牛育肥本地肉牛阉牛和杂交犊牛育肥阉牛居中。本地肉牛犊牛育肥阉牛的背膘厚度最大（=0.03），杂交周岁牛育肥阉牛的背膘厚度最小，而杂交犊牛育肥阉牛和周岁牛育肥本地肉牛阉牛居中。总体肝脓肿在品种类型上有影响（<0.01），在育肥系统上也有影响（=0.01），杂交阉牛和周岁牛育肥阉牛的肝脓肿发病率较高。净总回报在周岁牛育肥本地肉牛阉牛中最高（<0.01），其次分别是杂交周岁牛育肥阉牛、杂交犊牛育肥阉牛和本地肉牛犊牛育肥阉牛。在育肥前放牧肉牛×奶牛阉牛可以提高动物生产性能和某些胴体特性，但肝脓肿的发病率仍然很高。由于杂交系统的回报居中，这些动物与本地肉牛相比具有竞争力，但肝脓肿的较高患病率需要进一步研究。
