Effects of Different Levels of Mixed Silage of Alfalfa and Corn Straw on Growth Performance,Slaughter Performance,Meat quality and Breeding Benefits of Simmental Beef Cattle
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of mixed silage of alfalfa and corn straw on growth performance,slaughter performance,meat quality and breeding benefits of Simmental beef cattle.60 healthy Simmental(fourth generation)cattle with an average body weight of(380±10.25 kg)were se-lected and randomly divided into 5 groups with 12 cattle in each group.The experimental cattle were fed with the same composition of the concentrate,and the forage was made by mixed silage of alfalfa and corn straw.The con-tent of alfalfa in groupⅠ(control group),Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ was0%,15%,25%,35%and45%,respective-ly.The pre-trial period lasted 15 days and the experimental period lasted 90 days.The results showed that the av-erage daily feed intake of groups Ⅴ and Ⅳ was 12.24 kg and 12.03 kg,and the average daily weight gain of groups Ⅴ and Ⅳ was 1420 g and 1370 g,respectively,which were significantly higher than those of group Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ(P＜0.05).The ratio of feed to gain in group Ⅴ and Ⅳ was8.62 and 8.78,respectively,which were significantly lower than that in groupⅠ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ(P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in slaughter rate,net meat rate,water loss rate,tenderness and pH value among all groups(P＞0.05).The eye muscle area of groups Ⅴ and Ⅳ was 84.06 and 83.63,respectively,which were significantly higher than that of group Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ(P＜0.05).The crude protein in group Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ was 22.33%,22.86%,23.73%,25.55%and 26.94%,respectively,and the lean meat percentage was 59.66%,60.83%,61.57%,64.15%and 66.37%,respectively.The marbling was 2.83,3.15,3.21,3.42,3.58,respectively.There was no signifi-cant difference between group Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ(P＞0.05),no significant difference between groups Ⅳ and Ⅴ(P＞0.05),but there was significant difference between group Ⅴand Ⅳ and groupⅠ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ(P＜0.05).Com-pared with group Ⅰ,the average daily gross profit of group Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ increased by 2.10 yuan,2.34 yuan,3.81 yuan and 4.36 yuan,respectively.In conclusion,different levels of mixed silage of alfalfa and corn straw could improve the growth performance,slaughter performance,meat quality and breeding benefits of Simmen-tal beef cattle.Among them,the mixed silage adding 35%～45%alfalfa had the best effect on feeding beef cattle,and when the proportion of alfalfa reached 45%,all feeding indexes of beef cattle were optimal.
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