Feed bunk management effects steer performance and behaviour
Animal performance and behaviour in fattening steers using ad libitum or restricted feed-bunk management were evaluated. High store-capacity self-feeders with weekly recharge were used in ad libitum management (ADLIB), while manual twice-a-day delivery was used in restricted management (REST). Twenty-four steers were allotted to 12 pens and fed with a high corn-grain diet without roughage, and randomly assigned to one of the treatments. Animal behaviour was recorded every 5 min throughout 24 h for 3 days. No bunk-management effect was evident in bodyweight (P 0.95) or average daily gain (P = 0.91). Even though ADLIB resulted in higher dry-matter intake (P = 0.03), the animals spent less time per day eating feed than did those under REST (P < 0.01), with more eating sessions per day (P = 0.02), which were shorter (P = 0.06). Rumination time was greater (P = 0.07) under ADLIB than under REST, while the opposite was observed for time spent eating (P < 0.01). Resting time was longer in animals under ADLIB (P = 0.02), with more sessions per day (P = 0.06), than under REST. In conclusion, the two feed-bunk managements evaluated had no negative implications either for animal performance or behaviour.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
CSIRO
2020-03-19
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| Subjects: | Ganado Bovino, Alimentación de los Animales, Comportamiento Animal, Granos, Maíz, Cattle, Animal Feeding, Animal Behaviour, Grain, Maize, Beef Cattle, Ganado de Carne, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/7100 https://www.publish.csiro.au/an/AN18614 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN18614 |
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