692
Can treatments of barley grain with lactic and citric acid improve performance of male calves
Thirty Holstein male calves with an initial body weight 308 ± 22 Kg were used in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 10 replicates in each treatment for 100 d. Rolled barley grain steeped in an equal quantity (i.e., in a ratio of 1 to 1, wt/vol) of either tap water alone, 0.5% lactic acid solution, or 1% citric acid solution was added to rations. Therefore, dietary treatments included: 1) control (with rolled barley),2) rolled barley treated with citric acid, and 3) rolled barley treated with lactic acid. The rations were formulated according NRC beef (1996) guidelines. Calves were housed in tie stalls and fed individually. Dry matter intake was measured daily, and weight gain was measured every 4 wk. All of data were analyzed with PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. Final body weight differed across treatments(P < 0.05) being 424, 439, and 442 kg to the treatment 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Average daily gain was greater in treatment 2 and 3 vs. 1 (P < 0.05, 1.30, 1.48, and 1.50 kg/d, respectively). Dry matter intake was not different among treatments. Gain-to-feed ratio increased due to lactic or citric acid treatment compared with control (P < 0.05; 0.162, 0.167, and 0.144,respectively). Overall, feeding feedlot cattle with rolled barley grain treated with lactic or citric acid improved growth performance of calves.
Keywords:
barley treated with acid
feedlot cattle
performance