Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T08:12:36.473Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relative efficiency of food utilization of British Friesian entire male and castrate male cattle at two levels of feeding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

T. W. Griffiths
T. W. Griffiths
Affiliation:
Agricultural Institute, Dunsinea, Castleknock, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Get access

Abstract

A combined nutritional balance and comparative slaughter experiment using 20 animals compared entire male and castrate male cattle when pair-fed at high and medium levels of feeding and slaughtered at a constant 400 kg live weight. The carcasses were dissected into lean meat, separable fat, and bone, and the edible portion of the carcass was further analysed for crude protein, fat and water.

There were no significant differences between entire and castrate animals in their ability to digest energy, nitrogen or modified acid detergent fibre. The mean metabolizable energy values (MJ/kg dry matter) of the diets were 10·6 for castrates and 10·9 for entire animals. Live-weight and carcass gains (kg/day) for each treatment were respectively: entire high feeding level, 1·10, 0·69; entire medium feeding level, 0·91, 0·57; castrate high feeding level, 0·92, 0·57; castrate medium feeding level, 0·79, 0·48. Castrate carcasses contained significantly (P < 005) less lean meat and more separable fat. The edible portion of these carcasses also contained significantly (P < 0·05) more total fat but less protein and water than entire carcasses. Daily carcass protein gain was significantly higher for entire animals (P < 0·001) but daily energy gain was not significantly different. The most efficient conversion of dietary metabolizable energy and crude protein to either live weight or carcass meat production was obtained by the use of entire animals and the high level of feeding.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , February 1980 , pp. 53 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1980

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

Agricultural Research Council. 1965. The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 2, Ruminants. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. 1974. Metabolisable energy and feeding systems for ruminants. In Nutrition Conferencefor Feed Manufacturers: 7 (ed. Swan, H., Lewis, D.). Butterworth, London.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Clapperton, J. L. 1965. Prediction of the amount of methane produced by ruminants. Br. J. Nutr. 19: 511–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blaxfer, K. L. and Rook, J. A. F. 1953. The heat of combustion of the tissues of cattle in relation to their chemical composition. Br. J. Nutr. 7: 83–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, R. A. 1971. Effect of castration on meat quality and quantity. J. Anim. Sci. 32: 849–858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffiths, T. W. 1978. Effects of variations in energy and protein intake on digestibility, nitrogen balance and carcass composition in British Friesian castrate male cattle. Anim. Prod. 26: 233–243.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland. 1975. Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Tech. Bull. 33. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Preston, T. R., MacDearmid, A., Aitken, J. N., MacLeod, N. A. and Philip, Euphemia B. 1968. [The effect of castration on growth, feed conversion and carcass quality of Friesian cattle given all-concentrate diets.] Revta cub. Ciênc, agric. 2: 183–190.Google Scholar
Price, M. A., Mathison, G. W. and Berg, R. T. 1978. Effect of dietary roughage level on the feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of bulls and steers. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 58: 303–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, M. A. and Yeates, N. T. M. 1971. Infertile bulls versus steers. I. The influence of level of nutrition on relative growth rate. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 77: 307–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turton, J. D. 1969. The effect of castration on meat production from cattle, sheep and pigs. In Meat Production from Entire Male Animals (ed. Rhodes, D. N.), pp. 1–50. Churchill, London.Google Scholar
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. Anim. Prod. 24: 237–244.Google Scholar