Young Beef Calves Make Gains Economically, Lose Weight Early WASHINGTON (USDA) —(. ; Latest results of growth studies on f u ii feed to make economcial with identical-twin beef calves ga ms and high-quality beef, the show that young heifers and u. S Department of Agricultural steers 3 to 4 months old can be reports. kept temporarily on rations that, These findings by D r. C F. barely maintain them weight Winchester and coworkers of or even result in some weight ugj)A.’s Agricultural Research loss - and yet can recover later Semoa at * BelUm jle, Md„ sup- 1. Limited Experimental Ration iWiii-vaii giowm biuuics ac Agiicuxiurai ttesearcn Center, Belts- Ville, Md; This six-months-old Angus heifer (Calf A) weighs 244 pounds after three months on a limited experimental ration (about 1% times that required for maintenance). It weighed 174 pounds at the beginning of the tests, thus gamed 70 pounds during the three month limited ration period Dr, Clarence F. Winchester and his associates at Beltsville conducted this experiment to determine the effect of interrupted growth on future gaining ability of beef calves. This particular calf, one of the controls in the experiment, consumed 305 pounds of TDN during the limited-ration period, or 44 pounds per pound of gam The calf’s diet was adequate in all respects, and it maintained steady, even growth. (USDA Photo). 2. Submaintenance Low-Energy Dief 6 S 4 < & f 0 1 t This six-month-old Angus heiier, (Calif B, co-twin of calf A) has been on a submaintenance low-energy diet for three months It weighs only 150 pounds, having lost 20 pounds from its original weight of 170 pounds since the start of the test The-animal's food allowance for the limited-ration period was only about three quarters of that required for maintenance, or less than half the amount fed to its co-twin (first photo). It consumed only 110 pounds of TDN during the three-month period of restricted feed ing, or about 13 pounds day. The animal is healthy de spite its loss of weight, due to ample protein, carotene, and min erals m the diet. Its loss of weight was due only to the low energy Value of its ration for the three-month test period. (USDA Photo). 3. 18 Months, Ready for Slaughter f. 54 Now 18 months old and fully grown, Calf A is ready for slaugh ter at 797 pounds. It has been maintained on a liberal ration for the last 12 months and has gained weight evenely and steadily Its total gain over the 15-month test period was 623 pounds, an average of 1.4 pounds daily It consumed 3,633 pounds TDN or 5 8 pounds per pound of gam during the experiment. (USDA Photo). ‘54. 30 42 54 4? plement earlier results from their twin - calf experiments, which demonstrated that beef steers kept on maintenance ra tions between the ages of 6 and 12 months could nevertheless produce good beef economically later when sufficient cheap feed was made available. Many ani mal husbandmen foimerly behe |Ved that unless calves gained steadily at least half a pound per day their ability to make profitable "gams would be per manently impaired Often Lose Weight During the winter, many beet cattle in the United States not only stop gaining but frequently lose weight, due to inadequate forage and the poor nutritive quality of some range glasses after prolonged summer expo sure to sun and ram 1 The Beltsville researchers feel that continuous feeding for rapid growth is desirable for beef cattle whenever it is econo mically feasible. But their work shows that there need be no loss in growth potential as a result of 'low calorie intake for 3 to 6 j months during the year, so l<wig as the animals’ limited forage -is supplemented by sufficient protein, minerals, and carotene (provitamin A) to keep them healthy. 90 ?8 * | In other words, lack of gain lor even some loss of weight by young beef cattle on the range in winter or during a drought will not, in itself, make them uneconomical beef producers Temporary subsistence on main tenance or submaintenance ra tions, the tests show, need not impair the animals’ later feed use efficiency, and ultimate meat and hide quality, or pro portion of lean meat to fat and bone in the carcass. | The recent growth studies were made with 10 pairs of identical twin Such twins are rare,- occurring probably once in 2,000 or more calvings, but their identical inheritance makes them far more valuable in reasearch than an equal number of less closely related animals Twins used included both heifers and steers, repre senting crossbred beef-dairy cat tle and “high grade” and pure bred beef animals, i Limited Feed 90 One of the twins m each pair received limited feed for a de finite period, either between the ages of 3 and ff months, or be tween 4 and 8 months of age 1 Three of these animals were given submaintenance rations about 75 per cent of the calories necessary to maintain weight. (Their average daily weight loss during the period of reduced energy intake was 0 2 pound) Another 3 animals were fed just enough to maintain weight, and 4 others were given allowances ranging from maintenance to a fairly liberal ration At the end of the 3- or 4- month period of restricted feed ing, these 10 animals were fed ATTENTION PLEASE * We Are Happy to Announce Another Crop of Large SSSS " d CHERRIES ALSO RED PIE CHERRIES J&nfou (suf ■ 7^ iv// Yourself PICKING DATE TUESDAY, JUNE 26. Bring Pop and Grandpop Along NO PICKING SUNDAYS H. L. SHANK Headquarters New Danville Pike, lancaster, R. 6 90 Lancaster Farming, Friday, June 22, 1956 4. 18 Months, Only 708 Pounds J m/ 1 Now weighing 708 pounds at 18 months of age, Calf B made a 'rapid recovery from its early weight loss during 12 months on lib eral feed It has gained 558 pounds, or 15 pounds per day over its weight of 150 pounds at six months of age After this photo was ( taken, the animal was fed for an additional three months to bring at to a -slaughter weight of 833 pounds Despite the additional hree-months feeding, the amount of feed (TDN) required by this calf was 3,962 pounds or 6 0 pounds TDN per pound of gain. This is almost the same as the TDN per pound of gain required by its co-twin, Calf A, which was fed well above the maintenance level throughout the experiment Resumption of normal growth by Calf B indicated that, as long as all nutritional needs other than energy requirements for growth are met, a period of no weight gain or even some loss of weight need not affect a calf’s ability to make [later gains economically or to produce good quality beef (USDA i Photo). < „ „ £ * as much as they would eat un til they reached slaughter grades of low choice to prime (aveiage weight about 1,000 pounds) at about 2 years of age. Their 10 'co-twins were fed liberally throughout the experiment and were slaughtered at the same average weight. The low-calorie lation fed con sisted basically of alfalfa hay and linseed oil meal. Animals not on submaintenance or main tenance rations also received cracked corn. All the animals were fed adequate protein, provitamin A, phosphorus, and salt. I Despite the interruption in growth of animals on mainten ance or submaintenance rations, all later grew on full ■ ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■!>■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■y SSCREENS CUSTOM MAT E KAISER SHADE SCREENS STORM WINDOWS Alcoa Aluminum Storm & Screen Doors $37.50 118 ia. Thick Full Fiano Hinge with ALL Hardware Completely Installed $49.95 FREE ESTIMATES ! EASY TERMS IF YOU DESIRE PAUL CLUCK - EAST PETERSBURG, PA. Roofing Siding- -Spouting See Q ur p lv pi a y Stand any (All Kinds) lues. Eve. at Root’s PHONE LANC. 2-6124 Country Mkt, E. Petersburg Or Landisville 2897 __________ ■ r iiiiii»iiii»iiiaiim>ii»Miinf > *» feed. In every case, growth was lesumed following the interrup tion at a rate that was normal or better for the size of the animal The two heiters and one steer on submaintenance rations gained almost 7 per cent faster on full feed (average, 177 lbs per day) than their co-twins, used as controls The average amount of feed (TDN) per lb of grain icquired during the expeument by the 10 animals on tentporanly le stncfed rations was 61 lbs, al most exactly the same as that required by the 10 controls (6 0 lbs TDN per lb of gam). In 4 out of 10 cases, however, the cattle given limited feed, took several weeks longer to reach slaughter weight. ALL ALUMINIUM 11 * ».
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