Table 5.
Influence of drylot housing or pasture on calf body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) during the preweaning phase, as well as calf dirty scores
| Item | Treatment1 | SEM | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL | PAST | |||
| BW, kg | ||||
| Initial2 | 134.1 | 134.0 | 3.68 | 0.96 |
| WSW3 | 192.8 | 177.8 | 2.15 | <0.01 |
| Weaning4 | 286.1 | 255.4 | 4.66 | <0.01 |
| End of fence-line5 | 289.0 | 251.7 | 5.43 | <0.01 |
| ADG, kg/d | ||||
| Preweaning ADG6 | 1.40 | 1.12 | 0.04 | <0.01 |
| Calf dirty score7 | ||||
| Initial | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.08 | 0.12 |
| Weaning | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.11 | <0.01 |
| End of Receiving8 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.15 | 0.02 |
1DL cow/calf pairs were housed on concrete lots with open front sheds, cows were limit-fed TMR formulated for maintenance and calves had ad libitum access to TMR, and PAST cows rotationally grazed pasture, calves offered creep feed 3 wk prior to weaning.
281 ± 15.3 d of age.
3Weigh-suckle-weigh conducted at 135 ± 15.1 d of age.
4191 ± 15.3 d of age.
5197 ± 15.3 d of age.
6ADG calculated from initial to weaning; days 0–110.
7Determine by a 5-point scale 1 = no tag, clean hide and 5 = lumps of manure attached to the hide continuously on the underbelly and side of the animal from brisket to quarter; as described by Busby and Strohbehn (2008).
8Evaluated at 240 ± 15.3 d of age at the completion of the receiving phase.