Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T14:45:58.094Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Partition of food intake between maintenance and gain among bovine sex phenotypes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

T. W. Gettys ,
D. M. Henricks ,
P. M. Burrows  and
B. D. Schanbacher
T. W. Gettys
Affiliation:
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
D. M. Henricks
Affiliation:
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
P. M. Burrows
Affiliation:
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
B. D. Schanbacher
Affiliation:
US Department of Agriculture, Clay Center, Nebraska 68933, USA
Get access

Abstract

Four groups of calves (10 bulls, 10 steers, 10 heifers and 10 ovariectomized heifers) of Simmental- Hereford breeding were individually given a high-energy diet from 10 to 16 months of age. At the end of the experiment, the 9-10-11th rib section was dissected into fat, lean and bone and chemical analysis was performed on the dissected soft tissue. For each group, the relationship between food intake and change in body weight was examined by a method designed to separate intake into its simultaneous maintenance and gain components: least-squares estimates for the maintenance coefficient (βm, kg/day per kg body weight) and the gain coefficient (βg, kg food per kg gain) were obtained for each animal. Conventional measures of food conversion ratio (kg food per kg gain) were examined on both common age and common weight-gain bases. Bulls, followed by steers, accumulated the most lean and least fat while heifers and ovariectomized heifers accumulated the least lean and most fat. Maintenance coefficients (βm) were lower in males than in females but did not differ within gender. Gain coefficients (βg) did not differ among the groups, although the coefficients appeared to be similar within gender. Food conversion ratio computed over a common age interval did not differ among groups. Food conversion ratio computed over common weight intervals was lowest in bulls followed in increasing order by steers then the two female groups. It is concluded that males grow more efficiently than females while accumulating more lean and less adipose tisue and that this greater efficiency is achieved by consuming less food per unit of body weight for maintenance, leaving proportionately more of the total intake available for gain.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , April 1987 , pp. 209 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arthaud, V. H., Mandigo, R. W., Koch, R. M. and Kotula, A. W. 1977. Carcass composition, quality and palatability attributes of bulls and steers fed different energy levels and killed at four ages. Journal of Animal Science 44: 53–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1975. Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 12th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Berg, R. T. and Butterfield, R. M. 1976. New Concepts of Cattle Growth. Sydney University Press, Sydney.Google Scholar
Berg, R. T., Jones, S. D. M., Price, M. A., Fukuhara, R., Butterfield, R. M. and Hardin, R. T. 1979. Patterns of carcass fat deposition in heifers, steers and bulls. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 59: 359–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Fowler, V. R. and Gill, J. C. 1982. A study of the growth of sheep to maturity. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 98: 405–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Wainman, F. W. 1966. The fasting metabolism of cattle. British Journal of Nutrition 20: 103–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, J. E., Brown, C. J. and Butts, W. T. 1972. Relationships among measures of growth from birth to maturity in Hereford and Angus cattle. Research Bulletin, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas, No. 773.Google Scholar
Dinusson, W. E., Andrews, F. N. and Beeson, W. M. 1950. The effects of Stilbestrol, testosterone, thyroid alteration and spaying on the growth and fattening of beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 9: 321–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Field, R. A. 1971. Effect of castration on meat quality and quantity. Journal of Animal Science 32: 849–858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ford, J. J. and Gregory, K. E. 1983. Effects of late castration and zeranol on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of bovine males. Journal of Animal Science 57: 286–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forrest, R. J. 1981. A comparison of the growth, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics between purebred Holstein-Friesian steers and Limousin × Holstein (F,) steers and heifers. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 61: 515–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galbraith, H., Dempster, D. G. and Miller, T. B. 1978. A note on the effect of castration on the growth performance and concentrations of some blood metabolites and hormones in British Friesian male cattle. Animal Production 26: 339–342.Google Scholar
Galbraith, H. and Watson, H. B. 1978. Performance, blood and carcase characteristics of finishing steers treated with trenbolone acetate and hexoestrol. Veterinary Record 103: 28–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geay, Y. and Malterre, C. 1971. [Effect of castration and type of carbohydrate in the ration on growth and quality of the carcasses of cattle killed at 24 months.] Annales de Zootechnie 20: 251–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, N. McC., Searle, T. W. and Griffiths, D. A. 1974. Basal metabolic rate in lambs and young sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 25: 957–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heitzman, R. J., Chan, K. H. and Hart, I. C. 1977. Liveweight gains, blood levels of metabolites, proteins and hormones following implantation of anabolic agents in steers. British Veterinary Journal 133: 62–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henricks, D. M., Cooper, J. W., Spitzer, J. C. and Grimes, L. W. 1984. Sex differences in plasma cortisol and growth in the bovine. Journal of Animal Science 59: 376–383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keith, T. B., Dahmen, J. J., Orme, L. E. and Bell, T. D. 1967. Heifers v. steers in the feedlot. Research Bulletin, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Idaho, No. 488.Google Scholar
Klastrup, S., Cross, H. R., Schanbacher, B. D. and Mandigo, R. W. 1984. Effects of castration and electrical stimulation on beef carcass quality and palatability characteristics. Journal of Animal Science 58: 75–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Research Council. 1970. Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals. No. 4, Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. 4th ed. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Oscai, L. B. and McGarr, J. A. 1978. Evidence that the amount of food consumed in early life fixes appetite in the rat. American Journal of Physiology 235: R141–144.Google ScholarPubMed
Parks, J. R. 1982. A Theory of Feeding and Growth of Animals. Springer-Verlag, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prescott, J. H. D. and Lamming, G. E. 1964. The effects of castration on meat production in cattle, sheep and pigs. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 63: 341–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, T. R. and Willis, M. B. 1970. Intensive Beef Production, pp. 287–312. Pergamon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Pullar, J. D. and Webster, A. J. 1977. The energy cost of fat and protein deposition in the rat. British Journal of Nutrition 37: 355–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ray, D. E., Hale, W. H. and Marchello, J. A. 1969. Influence of season, sex and hormonal growth stimulants on feedlot performance of beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science 29: 490–495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schanbacher, B. D. and Crouse, J. D. 1980. Growth and performance of growing-finishing lambs exposed to long or short photoperiods. Journal of Animal Science 51: 943–948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, St C. S., Turner, H. G. and Young, G. B. 1981. Genetic control of equilibrium maintenance efficiency in cattle. Animal Production 33: 179–194.Google Scholar
Taylor, St C. S. and Young, G. B. 1966. Variation in growth and efficiency in twin cattle with live weight and food intake controlled. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 66: 67–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, A. J. 1977. Selection for leanness and the energetic efficiency of growth in meat animals. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 36: 53–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webster, A. J. F., Smith, J. S. and Mollison, G. S. 1977. Prediction of the energy requirements for growth in beef cattle. 3. Body weight and heat production in Hereford × British Friesian bulls and steers. Animal Production 24: 237–244.Google Scholar