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. 2024 Mar 5;102:skae060. doi: 10.1093/jas/skae060

Table 7.

Effect of continuous or intermittent feeding of ergot contaminated grain in a mash or pelleted form on ear, hoof, and tail temperatures of finishing (FN) steers

Treatments P-value
CON1 CEM2 IEM3 IEP4 SEM Ctrl vs. Ergot Cont. vs. Int. Ergot mash vs. ergot pellet
FN start of Period 1—AVG (February 2/22—start of FN)
 Both ears, °C 7.46 8.98 8.86 6.23 0.029 0.65 0.28 0.09
 Left ear, °C 9.54 9.94 10.33 7.72 0.026 0.88 0.53 0.13
 Right ear, °C 5.40 7.51 7.36 4.72 0.026 0.42 0.33 0.13
 Hoof, °C 0.26 -0.08 0.11 -0.27 0.047 0.61 1.00 0.63
 Tail, °C 6.66 4.45 5.29 3.56 0.391 0.02 0.98 0.13
FN end of Period 2—AVG (March 16/22, 2 wk off Int.)
 Both ears, °C 19.46 19.80 18.68 16.11 0.038 0.35 0.03 0.04
 Left ear, °C 19.83 20.22 18.79 17.13 0.030 0.44 0.06 0.21
 Right ear, °C 19.10 19.38 18.57 15.05 0.036 0.33 0.04 0.01
 Hoof, °C 17.64 18.90 19.07 18.13 0.033 0.51 0.82 0.51
 Tail, °C 17.60 15.56 15.49 15.84 0.045 0.09 0.91 0.74
FN end of Period 4—AVG (April 27/22, 2 wk off Int.)
 Both ears, °C 17.85 19.31 18.73 18.25 0.392 0.33 0.42 0.67
 Left ear, °C 18.52 19.16 19.49 18.37 0.022 0.63 0.84 0.36
 Right ear, °C 17.09 19.38 17.65 18.13 0.035 0.18 0.24 0.89
 Hoof, °C 23.99 23.23 23.01 21.65 0.345 0.10 0.31 0.18
 Tail, °C 20.53 20.77 18.83 20.37 0.041 0.51 0.19 0.13
FN end of Period 6—AVG (June 8/22, 2 wk off Int.)
 Both ears, °C 22.64 23.02 22.35 21.71 0.001 0.56 0.06 0.27
 Left ear, °C 21.18 23.23 22.90 22.29 0.310 0.45 0.24 0.31
 Right ear, °C 22.07 22.78 21.81 21.17 0.055 0.77 0.03 0.32
 Hoof, °C 27.25 26.45 25.62 25.65 0.043 0.09 0.34 0.97
 Tail, °C 23.59 24.14 23.23 23.03 0.059 0.76 0.04 0.71

1CON = Control, no added ergot alkaloids (EA).

2CEM = Continuous ergot mash, fed continuously 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM.

3IEM = Intermittent ergot mash, fed intermittently 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk.

4IEP = Intermittent ergot pellet, fed intermittently 2 mg total EA/kg of diet DM incorporated into a pelleted supplement during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk.