Table 2.
Intake, daily gain, and feeding behavior characteristics for two contrasting levels of RFI of the animals: lower RFI (LRFI, −0.78 ± 0.22 kg DMI/d) and higher RFI (HRFI, 0.83 ± 0.34 kg DMI/d) steers
| LRFI | HRFI | SEM | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intake, kg DM/d | 9.33 | 10.6 | 0.33 | 0.014 |
| GEI, Mcal/d | 37.1 | 42.3 | 1.32 | 0.014 |
| ADG, kg/d | 0.83 | 0.80 | 0.190 | 0.923 |
| Feed rate, g/s | 4.05 | 2.75 | – | – |
| Feed rate, log 10 | 1.32 | 0.98 | 0.120 | 0.062 |
| Meal duration time, s | 11802 | 15404 | 397.7 | <0.0001 |
| Average Meal Size, kg | 0.81 | 0.98 | – | – |
| Average Meal Size, log 10 | −0.23 | −0.12 | 0.121 | 0.549 |
| Meals per day | 12.8 | 13.6 | 1.14 | 0.627 |
| Head down duration/meal, s | 265 | 431 | – | – |
| Head down duration/meal, log 10 | 5.47 | 5.89 | 0.190 | 0.141 |
| Head down duration, s | 3024 | 4519 | 440.9 | 0.029 |
GEI = gross energy intake; ADG = average daily gain. Values are average per treatment (n = 8/treatment).