Feedlot performance of beef cattle fed with corn stover-swine waste silage
1999
Demo-os, R.A. | Valdez, M.T.SJ. | Mapili, M.C. Jr (Tarlac Coll. of Agriculture, Camiling, Tarlac (Philippines). Dept. of Animal Science)
This study was conducted to determine the physical characteristics, nutritive value, acceptability, and digestibility of and feedlot performance of beef cattle to silage made from chopped corn stover, fresh swine waste and molasses. Corn stover, chopped 2 to 3 cm in length, was ensiled with fresh swine waste and 5 percent molasses solution. Corn stover and swine waste were mixed at a proportion of 60:40 based on 90 percent dry matter and ensiled for three weeks at a pH of 4.3 to 4.6. The silage was evaluated in terms of physical appearance, nutrient composition, and digestibility. Research station and barangay [village]-based feeding trials were conducted using 10 beef cattle each. In each location, 5 animals were fed corn stover-swine waste silage and the other 5 were fed pure corn stover. Results of the study showed that corn stover-swine waste silage had a pleasant smell, smooth texture and a golden yellow appearance which resembles that of good quality grass silage. Analysis of chemical components showed that there was marked improvement in the nutritive value of the silage compared to pure corn stover. The addition of swine waste and molasses improved the nutrient composition of silage. Moreover, the cellwall components of corn stover decreased when ensiled with swine waste and molasses. The silage was highly acceptable, and therefore, palatable to beef cattle as shown by the voluntary dry matter intake value of test animals which is within the percentage dry matter requirement. Results of the digestion trial revealed that corn stover-swine waste silage had higher digestibility values than pure corn stover. The feeding experiment results showed that beef cattle fed with corn stover-swine waste silage had average daily gain ranging from 310 to 720 g while those on pure corn stover had average daily gain of 85 to 130 g
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