Authors : A.I. Orr , V.T. Nguyen , A. Webb , D.G. St. Louis and B.J. Rude
Abstract: During balance trial, 12 steers received hay with: no supplement (HAYB); corn 0.445% body weight (BW; CORNB); or SBH 1.16% BW (HULLSB). Hay Dry Matter Intake (DMI) was not different (p = .68; between 1.15 and 1.32%). Total DMI was greater (p< .01) for steers fed HULLSB (2.37%) than HAYB (1.31%) or CORNB (1.66%). Apparent Dry Matter (DM) and Organic Matter (OM) digestibilities were greater (p = .01) when fed CORNB (69.91 and 71.23%) or HULLSB (70.47 and 72.12%) than HAYB (57.54 and 59.12%). Apparent neutral (NDF) and acid (ADF) detergent fiber digestibilities were not different (p = .09; between 635.4 and 73.69%). Apparent CP and GE digestibilities were less (p = .02) when fed HAYB (53.63 and 57.19%) than CORNB (703.7 and 69.68%) or HULLSB (63.85 and 70.06%), while apparent CP and GE utilization were greater (p< .01) when fed HULLSB (0.46 kg d 1 and 14.09 Mcal d 1, respectively) than CORNB (0.13 kg d 1 and 9.83 Mcal d 1, respectively) or HAYB (-0.19 kg d 1 and 6.33 Mcal d 1, respectively). During digestion trial, 6 cannulated steers receiving hay with: no supplement (HAYD); corn 0.455% BW (CORND); or SBH 0.607% BW (HULLSD). Hay DMI was not different (p = .18; ranging from 0.123-0.151%). Total DMI of steers fed HULLSD and CORND was greater (p< .01; 1.98 and 2.08%, respectively) than those fed HAYD (1.26%). Apparent DM, OM and CP digestion by steers fed HAYD was less (p< .01; 52.85, 53.41 and 49.23%, respectively) than CORND (61.98, 62.77, 64.72%, respectively) or HULLSD (65.68, 66.68 and 67.54%, respectively). Apparent NDF and ADF digestion were greater (p = .01) when fed HULLSD, (63.95 and 64.45%, respectively) than CORND (52.82 and 49.59%, respectively) or HAYD (53.89 and 50.29%, respectively). Supplementing bermudagrass hay with corn or SBH enhanced total DMI and apparent DM, OM and CP digestion. Supplementation also increased CP and GE utilization while SBH supplementation tended to increased fiber digestion.
A.I. Orr , V.T. Nguyen , A. Webb , D.G. St. Louis and B.J. Rude , 2007. Supplementing Corn or Soybean Hulls to Cattle Fed Bermudagrass Hay I: Intake, Apparent Digestion and Utilization . Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 6: 1343-1350.