THE EFFECT ON FATTENING STEERS OF SUPPLEMENTING SILAGE WITH DRIED GRASS OR ROLLED BARLEY

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Abstract
Eighteen crossbred Aberdeen‐Angus and six Shorthorn steers with an average liveweight of 382 kg were given silage (DM content 22.3%) ad lib., supplemented with 0, 1.2, 2.4 and 3.6 kg artificially dried grass, or 1.8 kg rolled barley, per day. A digestibility study carried out on the silage and dried grass showed that the concentration of the metabolizable energy was 52.7 and 45.6 kcal/100 kcal of food, respectively. Live‐weight gain increased with each level of supplementation. Supplementation did not significantly affect the intake of silage DM, but differences in the intake of total DM were significant. The killing‐out percentages of the steers were similar. The results suggest that dried grass pellets may be a usefid supplement for a silage diet. It was shown that 1.12 kg of dried grass was equivalent to 1.80 kg rolled barley as a supplement for silage.

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