Cement Kiln Dust in Complete Diets for Finishing Steers and Growing Lambs

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Abstract
Two trials were conducted to study the influence of cement kiln dust and/or protein level in complete diets on the feedlot performance and carcass merit of finishing steers and feedlot performance of growing lambs. The dietary variables in the 2 × 2 nested factorial design were: (1) no supplemental protein without kiln dust; (2) no supplemental protein with 3.5% kiln dust; (3) supplemental protein without kiln dust; and (4) supplemental protein with 3.5% kiln dust. All diets contained 53% forage and 47% concentrate. In trial 1, steers (avg initial weight, 309 kg) fed diets containing cement kiln dust without and with supplemental protein had higher (1.39, 1.52 vs .83, 1.11 kg/day) average daily gains while feed/gain ratios were improved (8.2, 6.9 vs 14.1, 10.2 kg) over steers fed diets without kiln dust and without or with supplemental protein during the 140-day study. Carcasses from steers fed kiln dust had .7 and .9 cm more fat over the 12th rib, higher marbling scores and higher grades (high choice vs high good) than carcasses from steers fed the diet containing supplemental protein without kiln dust. Steers fed the diet containing no supplemental protein without kiln dust had the lowest feedlot performance and carcass merit. Kidney tissue from both groups fed kiln dust was higher in lead (.78 vs .36 ppm) and selenium (1.19 vs .69 ppm) while liver tissue was higher in selenium (.35 vs .13 ppm) than tissues from steers fed diets containing no kiln dust. Reticulorumen ingesta, intestinal ingesta and fecal pH values for steers fed kiln dust were near 6.9 and about .4 pH unit higher than those not fed kiln dust. In trial 2, lambs (avg initial weight, 19.3 kg) fed diets containing kiln dust without and with supplemental protein required less feed to produce a unit of weight gain (8.3, 6.4 vs 16.1, 10.6 kg) and had higher (226, 282 vs 50, 189 g/day) average daily gains than lambs fed diets without kiln dust and wihout or with supplemental protein during the 112-day study. Lambs fed the diet containing no supplemental protein without kiln dust had the lowest average daily gain and highest feed/gain ratio. Copyright © 1979. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1979 by American Society of Animal Science.