Journal of Animal Science

Leu, Byron, M.;Hoffman, M., P.;Self, H., L.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445717xpmid: N/A

Summary Four winter and four summer trials were conducted over a 4-year period to compare the effects of confinement, shelter and no shelter on yearling steer performance in each season. Cattle in confinement, in open lots with shelter or in open lots without shelter consumed 6.29, and 6.67 kg of grain dry matter daily, respectively (P<.05). Grain dry matter consumption was greater (P<.01) in summer than in winter. An interaction (P<.01) of housing and season was evident for grain dry matter consumption. Cattle in open lots with access to shelter gained 1.22 kg, cattle without shelter gained 1.14 and those in confinement gained 1.12 kg daily. Cattle with shelter .gained faster (P<.05) than confined cattle. An interaction (P<.05) existed between housing and season for daily gain. Feed efficiency was not significantly affected by housing systems although trends did exist. In the eight trials, cattle with shelter required 5.46 units of grain dry matter per unit of live weight gain, confined cattle required units and those with no shelter required 5.90 units. Season nor the interaction of housing system and season did not significantly affect efficiency. These results suggest that feeding cattle in confinement cannot be expected to improve rate of gain or feed efficiency on a year-round basis. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Department of Animal Science. 3 Present address Corydon, IA. 4 Financial assistance and materials received from Alcoa, Inc. and financial support from the Iowa Beef Industry Council are gratefully acknowledged. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Ware, D., R.;Self, H., L.;Hoffmann, M., P.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445722xpmid: N/A

Summary Yearling steers were used to compare dried corn with high-moisture corn treated with propionic acid (PA) in six trials (1971 to 1974) and ammonium isobutyrate (AIB) in four trials (1972 to 1974). Daily post-storage grain dry matter (DM) consumption, average daily gain (ADG), pre-storage grain DM conversion, post-storage grain DM conversion and grain DM losses within storage systems from harvest to feeding were determined. On a post-storage grain DM basis, cattle fed PA-treated grain did not differ in average daily DM consumption, ADG or grain DM conversion from those fed dried grain. When pre-storage grain DM was used as a basis for comparison, conversion ratios were improved (P<.05) and grain DM losses were reduced (P<.05) in grain treated with PA before storage. Significantly less grain DM was lost in a PA-treated system than in a dry storage system (P<.05). Cattle fed AIB-treated grain did not differ in ADG from cattle fed dried grain, but consumed more grain DM per day (P<.05), and were more efficient (P<.05) in converting grain DM on both a pre- and post-storage basis to live weight gain. Significantly less DM was lost during the storage of AIB-treated grain than in artificially dried grain (P<05). This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Animal Science Department. 3 Partial financial support provided by W. R. Grace and Company. 4 Partial financial support provided by Chevron Chemical Company, Ortho Division. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Peacock, F., M.;Koger,, M.;Crockett, J., R.;Warnick, A., C.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445729xpmid: N/A

Summary Angus (A), Brahman (B), and Charolais (C) cattle were striaghtbred and reciprocally crossed in a study involving an average of 121 matings during 11 years for each of the nine possible combinations of the parent breeds. Overall least squares means for pregnancy rate, calf survival, and weaning rate were 78.6, 94.3 and 74.1%, respectively. Pregnancy rate was significantly influenced by breed of sire and was 74.4%, 82.3% and 79.1% for cows bred to Angus, Brahman and Charolais bulls, respectively. Effects due to breed of dam and sire × dam interactions were nonsignificant. Pregnancy rate for all cows crossbred (77.1%) was lower (P<.05) than for cows straightbred (81.5%). Calf survival was not significantly affected by breed of sire. However, breed of dam had a highly significant effect with Angus, Brahman and Charolais dams having calf survival rates of 88.7, 97.2 and 96.9%, respectively. The low calf survival rate for Angus dams was the result of a high death loss of F1 progeny sired by Brahman (13%) and Charolais (13.5%) sires. Average survival rates for straightbred and F1 calves were similar, 94.3 and 94.2%. Weaning percent was influenced (P<.05) by breed of dam and averaged 69.8, 76.5 and 75.9% for Angus, Brahman and Charolais cows, respectively. A highly significant sire × dam interaction resulted from Charolais sire × Angus dam matings having the lowest (63.8%) and Charolais sire × Brahman dam matings having the highest (82.2%) weaning rates. There was a nonsignificant advantage in weaning rate for straightbreds (76.9%) vs crossbreds (72.7%). Average weaning percentages for reciprocal combinations were 70.0% for AB + BA, 67.7%for AC + CA, and 80.2% for BC + CB (P<.05). Heterosis levels for pregnancy, calf survival and weaning rates were negative for the AC and AB reciprocals while for the CB combinations they were −2.1% for pregnancy rate but 4.0% for calf survival and 2.0% for weaning rate. These data indicate that mating of cows of the smaller breeds with sires of the large breeds may result in a net decrease for weaning rate This content is only available as a PDF. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Dealy,, Jean;Moeller, M., W.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445734xpmid: 324962

Summary Fourteen 8-week-old calves infected with S. typhimurium were fed control and 10 mg/ head/day bambermycins in an 8-week study to determine the effect on quantity, prevalence, shedding and susceptibility of Salmonella. Special precautions were taken to eliminate cross-contamination between infected and uninfected animals on both treatments. Salmonella counts of the homogenized fecal samples were monitored to study the parameters before and after inoculation. Five colonies from each fecal specimen suspected of being Salmonella were isolated, serologically identified and tested for susceptibility to 10 antibiotics. The use of bambermycins supplemented feed reduced the duration and prevalence of Salmonella shedding in calves. Bambermycins fed calves showed a significant decrease in the number of Salmonella shed during the first 7 days, and throughout the trial the quantity of Salmonella shed was less. Furthermore, feeding bambermycins diets significantly reduced the number of Salmonella resistant to streptomycin, ampicillin, and oxytetracycline. This content is only available as a PDF. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Martin, T., G.;Perry, T., W.;Beeson, W., M.;Mohler, M., T.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445739xpmid: N/A

Summary Weanling Angus bulls, which had been used in a creep study the last 4 months prior to weaning, were used in a 168-day finishing trial to study their comparative response to high-urea and natural protein supplements. The diet consisted of limited corn silage (7.7 kg), a full-feed of high-moisture shelled corn (5 or 6 kg) plus the daily protein supplement treatments of .9 kg of a 32% natural protein, .45 kg of a high-urea 64% protein or .36 kg of a high-urea 80% protein supplement. Each of the protein supplements compared supplied approximately 45% of the total daily protein intake. The preweaning creep treatments had no effect on rate of gain. The protein supplement treatments had no effect on rate of gain over the 168-day test. Furthermore, carcass data showed no difference among carcasses from the three protein supplements. This content is only available as a PDF. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Smith, Gerald, M.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445745xpmid: 558970

Summary Data from 3,535 purebred (PB) and 3,178 crossbred (XB) lambs were analyzed to determine the attention that should be given dystocia and lamb survival in selection programs for terminal sire breeds. Both dystocia and lamb mortality were quadratically related (P<.01) to birth weight. Dystocia was minimal (9 to 15%) at birth weights of about 3.5 kg, whereas mortality was minimal (26 to 30%) at about 5.5 kilograms. Dystocia increased lamb mortality by 8.6 (PB) and 4.8% (XB). Single-born lambs were heavier at birth (4.6 ± .03 vs 3.6 ± .04 kg, PB; 4.7 ± .03 vs 3.6 ± .03 kg, XB) and had fewer deaths (28.6 ± 1.8 vs 47.7 ± 2.3%, PB; 27.7 ± 1.8 vs 46.6 ± 1.7%, XB) than multiple-born lambs. Single-born XB lambs also had more dystocia than multiple-born lambs (13 ± 1.0 vs 8 ± .9%); however, an unexplained breed by type of birth interaction (P<.01) negated the effect of type birth on dystocia of PB lambs. The .13 ± .03 heritability estimate for dystocia was not changed by accounting for differences in birth weight. Large differences in percent lamb mortality, which were not attributable to birth weight or dystocia, were found among Suffolk- (41.9 ± 1.9), Hampshire- (36.8 ± 1.9) and Oxford-sired (32.8 ± 1.8) lambs; however, the .06 ± .03 heritability estimate for lamb survival discourages direct intrapopulation selection for viability. Also, the low heritability estimate for vigor (.10 ± .03) and its low genetic correlation with lamb survival (.16 ± .28) would discourage its use as a selection criterion for improving survival. Selection for increased size and growth rate in terminal sire breeds with little concern about dystocia or preweaning survival seems warranted, especially if they are to be mated with highly prolific ewes. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 U. S. Meat Animal Research Center, North Central Region, Agricultural Research Service. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Kress, D., D.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445754xpmid: N/A

Summary Two-hundred-seventy-four bull calves from three inbred lines were individually fed for 168 days postweaning. Postweaning traits studied were final weight, postweaning gain in weight, TDN consumed during the postweaning period, feed efficiency calculated as kilograms of gain per 100 kg of TDN (efficiency calculated as a ratio) and feed efficiency calculated as the deviation of the actual gain from the predicted gain or quadratic regression line of gain on TDN (efficiency calculated as a deviation). Linear partial regressions of all postweaning traits on inbreeding of calf were negative although not significant for the two efficiency measures. Weaning age of calf had a significant negative effect on the two efficiency values. Phenotypic correlations of the two efficiency measures with dam most probable producing ability, weaning conformation score and weaning weight of calf were small and negative, but were small and positive with calf birth weight. Phenotypic correlations of efficiency calculated as a ratio and efficiency calculated as a deviation with final weight, gain and TDN were .01 and .34, .66 and .85, and −.12 and .09, respectively. The correlation between the two efficiency values was .90 and all results were similar for the two efficiency values. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Published with the approval of the Director of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Series No. 638. 3 Department of Animal and Range Sciences. Copyrigth 1977 by American Society of Animal Science American Society of Animal Science

Swatland, H., J.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445759xpmid: 863797

Summary The accumulation of myofiber nuclei in the porcine sartorius muscle was studied by counting the numbers of nuclei appearing in transverse histological sections. On the basis of animal age, the accumulation of nuclei in transverse sections described a sigmoid curve, rising to a maximal rate of accumulation at 80 days (postnatal) and declining thereafter. Using the myofiber growth data of other researchers, it was shown that the accumulation of myofiber nuclei in transverse sections was closely related to radial myofiber growth. When animals were placed on a low plane of nutrition to arrest growth, nuclear accumulation was only affected at, or prior to 80 days. Microspectrophotometric measurements of the deoxyribonucleic acid content of individual myofiber nuclei stained by the Feulgen reaction revealed no evidence of amitosis (nuclear fragmentation) during normal growth. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Department of Animal and Poultry Science. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Young, L., G.;Ashton, G., C.;Smith, G., C.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445765xpmid: N/A

Summary The digestible and metabolizable energy value for pigs of several feeds was estimated. The feedstuffs were fed in various combinations and levels to pigs in metabolism trials and the energy values of the feedstuffs estimated from the equation Y = B1xi + B2x2 + B3X3 + B4X1X2 + B5x1x3 + B6x2x3 Y was the DE or ME value of the diet, X1, x2 etc. the percentage of each feedstuff in the diet and B1, B2 etc. considered as the estimate of the digestible or metabolizable energy value of the feedstuff. Addition of the interaction terms to the linear equation did not significantly reduce the residual variation and this was interpreted to indicate that there were no associative effects among the feedstuff combinations investigated. The energy values obtained were similar to some reported in the literature. There were large ranges in the determined values for some feedstuffs, e.g., soybean meal, wheat bran and warrant further investigation. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Department of Animal and Poultry Science. 3 Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science

Cheeke, P., R.;Kinzell, J., H.;, De Fremery, D;Kohler, G., O.

doi: 10.2527/jas1977.445772xpmid: N/A

Summary Alfalfa protein concentrate (APC) was evaluated as a protein source using rats and swine. In an experiment with young (18 kg initial weight) pigs, a freeze-dried (FD) APC sample gave growth and feed/gain similar to that with soybean meal (SBM) as the supplement, whereas gains were reduced (P<.01) with a commercial APC sample (X-Pro). A rat experiment indicated that both APC preparations gave increased growth when supplemented with lysine and methionine. Digestibility of the crude protein in the FD-APC was similar to that of SBM, while for the X-Pro it was lower (P<.01). Three other APC preparations, prepared with different drying temperatures (FD, 77 C, 91 C), were evaluated with rats and pigs. No differences (P<.05) in growth rate of pigs and rats fed these preparations occurred, but in both cases, the trend was to improved performance with reduced drying temperatures. The results indicate that the commercial preparation (X-Pro) was of inferior quality, but if adequate processing methods are used, APC can be the equal of soybean meal as a protein supplement for swine. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 3 Department of Animal Science, Oregon State University. 4 A.R.S., Western Regional Research Laboratory, Berkeley, CA Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science. American Society of Animal Science