Effects of Multiple Feeding upon Performance of Guernsey Heifers Fed Urea-Treated Corn Silage

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Abstract
The effects of feeding grain and urea-corn silage (0.5% urea) 2 and 4 times daily were studied in a 74-day trial utilizing 40 Guernsey heifers in a 2 X 2 factorial design. Urea-corn silage fed four times daily resulted in a nonsignificant (at P< .05) 18.4% greater gain than two times daily feeding. No significant effect (at P< .05) on growth was observed for two times vs. four times daily feeding of both brain and urea-treated corn silage. However, feeding urea-treated corn silage four times daily resulted in a significant (at P< .05) 13.7% decrease in estimated kg of TDN [total digestible nutrients] required per kg of weight gain when compared to two times daily feeding. When grain was fed two times and four times and silage two times daily, 14.4% less TDN was required per kg of gain in the group receiving grain four times than among those fed grain two times daily. Blood urea nitrogen and rumen volatile fatty acids (VFA) were not significantly affected by treatments. However, their trends favored more frequent feeding of silage.