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
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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
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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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