Table 2.
Feedlot performance of Bos indicus bulls receiving (BAS) or not (CON) prior to transport to the feedlot and/or at feedlot entry1,2
| Loading | Feedlot entry | SEM | P-value3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | CON | BAS | CON | BAS | L | F | L × F | |
| Body weight,4 kg | ||||||||
| Day −2 | 341.2 | 341.1 | 341.1 | 341.2 | 2.66 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 0.99 |
| Day 0 | 302.8 | 300.0 | 302.3 | 300.5 | 2.54 | 0.44 | 0.62 | 0.97 |
| Day 19 | 336.1 | 342.0 | 337.3 | 340.8 | 2.89 | 0.15 | 0.40 | 0.61 |
| Day 60 | 395.9 | 405.4 | 399.3 | 402.1 | 3.61 | 0.06 | 0.59 | 0.75 |
| Day 108 | 457.1 | 471.3 | 461.8 | 466.6 | 4.59 | 0.03 | 0.46 | 0.98 |
| Average daily gain, kg/d | ||||||||
| Days 0–19 | 1.789 | 2.210 | 1.880 | 2.119 | 0.0706 | < 0.0001 | 0.02 | 0.44 |
| Days 19–60 | 1.447 | 1.548 | 1.516 | 1.479 | 0.0457 | 0.16 | 0.59 | 0.67 |
| Days 60–108 | 1.274 | 1.372 | 1.301 | 1.345 | 0.0411 | 0.10 | 0.45 | 0.53 |
| Overall | 1.430 | 1.586 | 1.483 | 1.533 | 0.0301 | < 0.001 | 0.24 | 0.80 |
| Dry matter intake, kg/d | ||||||||
| Days 0–19 | 6.52 | 6.90 | 6.53 | 6.88 | 0.102 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.88 |
| Days 19–60 | 9.50 | 9.76 | 9.40 | 9.86 | 0.157 | 0.27 | 0.07 | 0.30 |
| Days 60–108 | 9.48 | 9.93 | 9.53 | 9.88 | 0.152 | 0.07 | 0.14 | 0.30 |
| Overall | 8.97 | 9.33 | 8.95 | 9.35 | 0.127 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.29 |
| Feed efficiency,5 g/kg | ||||||||
| Days 0–19 | 274 | 321 | 287 | 307 | 6.0 | < 0.001 | 0.05 | 0.14 |
| Days 19–60 | 154 | 159 | 163 | 150 | 6.1 | 0.58 | 0.18 | 1.00 |
| Days 60–108 | 135 | 139 | 137 | 136 | 3.0 | 0.39 | 0.79 | 0.97 |
| Overall | 160 | 170 | 167 | 164 | 3.2 | 0.05 | 0.57 | 0.67 |
| Carcass traits6 | ||||||||
| Hot carcass weight, kg | 260.1 | 268.9 | 263.1 | 266.1 | 3.12 | 0.03 | 0.46 | 0.93 |
| Dressing percent, % | 56.88 | 57.03 | 56.93 | 56.99 | 0.052 | 0.03 | 0.40 | 0.93 |
1Experimental period lasted 108 d and animals were slaughtered on the morning of day 109.
2Day −2, prior to transport to the feedlot; Day 0, feedlot entry; Day 19, end of the adaptation period; Day 60, end of the growing period; Day 108, end of the finishing period.
3L, Effects of treatment at loading (day −2); F, Effects of treatment at feedlot entry (day 0); L × F, loading × feedlot entry interaction.
4Bull initial and final BW were calculated based on shrunk BW and added an 8% shrink (Cooke et al., 2013c).
5Feed efficiency was calculated using total BW gain (in grams), and total feed intake (kg of dry matter) of each pen during each and overall experimental period.
6Calculated using the equations proposed by Del Bianco Benedeti et al. (2021).