Table 3.

Feed intake, body weight, and body condition score of forage-fed beef cows receiving no supplementation (NOSUPP; n = 6 pens) or receiving a molasses-based supplement enriched with Ca salts of soybean oil (24.7% of dry matter; Essentiom, Church and Dwight Co., Inc., Princeton, NJ) via self-fed low-moisture block (LMB; n = 6 pens) or hand-fed granular concentrate daily (CONC; n = 6 pens). Supplement treatments were provided from days 0 to 42 of the experiment¹

Item	NOSUPP	CONC	LMB	SEM	P-value
Supplement intake, kg/d (DM basis)
Days 14 to 28	—	0.554	0.564	0.017	0.68
Days 28 to 42	—	0.611	0.575	0.018	0.21
Overall (days 14 to 42)	—	0.583	0.570	0.011	0.39
Hay intake, kg/d (DM basis)	13.8	13.6	13.2	0.5	0.59
Body condition score2
Day 0	5.54	5.58	5.54	0.11	0.95
Day 14	5.71	5.79	5.79	0.11	0.83
Day 28	5.89	6.00	5.85	0.11	0.64
Day 42	6.17	6.33	6.14	0.11	0.44
Total gain (days 0 to 42)	0.62	0.75	0.60	0.08	0.40
Body weight, kg
Day 0	464	463	465	20	0.99
Day 14	478	476	477	20	0.99
Day 28	489	486	496	20	0.93
Day 42	494	482	501	20	0.81
Total gain (days 0 to 42)	29	19	35	11	0.60

¹Hay intake was recorded daily from each pen by collecting and weighing offered and nonconsumed hay. From days 0 to 13, the LMB was not weighed to allow cows to adapt and consume blocks without interference from research personnel. The LMB was weighed every other day from days 14 to 42, divided by 2 to represent daily intake, and averaged across LMB pens. The CONC was offered at 0.454 kg/cow daily (as-fed basis; 0.420 kg of DM/cow daily) from days 0 to 13 and adjusted (days 14 to 42) every 2 d to match LMB intake.

²According to Wagner et al. (1988).