Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Long-Term Direct And Correlated Selection Response In White Plymouth Rock Chickens Selected For High Or Low 8-Week Body Weight, Sylvia Harrison

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The increasing demand for poultry meat has led animal breeders to engage in artificial selection of chickens as a way to increase the productivity of poultry. Long-term experiments have been designed to measure rates of genetic response to a trait under selection, and correlated traits, as well as gauge possible selection limits.

Two studies were conducted to evaluate response to selection for body weight (BW) in chickens. The chickens were selected for high or low BW at 8 weeks of age. Those that met the criterion were selected as parents for the subsequent generation. In the first study the population …

The Effects Of Supplemental Rup In Corn Silage Growing Diets And Rup Digestibility Of Corn Silage, The Utilization Of Aggressive Implant Protocols, And The Effect Of Inoculate On Corn Silage And High Moisture Corn, Colton R. Oney

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Three experiments evaluated the effect of implant strategies on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of crossbred steers and Holstein steers. Final BW, ADG, and G:F were not different between implant strategies in Exp. 1 and 2. The utilization of more aggressive implant strategies has minimal impact on both feedlot and carcass performance of cross breed steers.

Four experiments evaluated the effects of supplemental RUP in corn silage growing diets and RUP content and RUP digestibility of corn silage. Exp. 1, supplemented five concentrations of RUP to growing calves consuming a corn silage diet. As supplemental RUP increased ADG and ending …

Evaluation Of Distillers Grains Components For Finishing Beef Cattle, Jordan E. Burhoop

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With the large expansion of the ethanol industry in previous years, there has been an increase in supply of distillers grains plus solubles (DGS) for the feedlot industry. Distiller’s grains are a common byproduct used in feedlot diets for added protein or energy. Recently, ethanol companies have been using different extraction techniques to remove various parts of the DGS to sell separately, such as corn oil and fiber. Previous research trials have tried to determine the contribution of individual nutrients in distillers grains that improve performance in order to predict the impact of removing certain components. In previous studies, fiber …

Evaluation Of Protein And Fiber From Distillers Grains Plus Solubles In Finishing Beef Cattle Diets, Zachary E. Carlson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Four studies were conducted to evaluate the components of distillers grains plus solubles in finishing beef cattle diets. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of five composites of feedstuffs formulated to be similar in nutrient composition to DDGS on finishing performance of cattle. Experiment 2 evaluated isolating the protein from distillers grains using a feedstuff from the wet milling ethanol industry to determine the impacts of protein on the feeding value of WDGS in finishing performance of cattle. Experiments 3 and 4 evaluated the effects of protein from distillers grains with the diets used in Exp. 2 on site of digestion, …

Use Of Byproducts In Forage-Based, Post-Weaning Beef Systems And Effects Of Serial Slaughter On Performance And Profitability, Robert G. Bondurant Jr.

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Crude glycerin was included in high-forage beef growing diets at 0, 4, 8, and 12% diet DM to determine the effect on fiber digestion by evaluating changes in microbial species abundance, NDF digestibility, and VFA concentrations. Total tract NDF digestibility decreased with increasing inclusion of GLY in high-forage diets. However, there was no decrease in in situ NDF digestibility and Fibrobacter succinogenes microbial populations were unaffected, indicating that fiber digestion was not directly affected by inclusion of GLY. Acetate decreased while propionate and butyrate VFA proportions increased as GLY increased.

Spayed heifers were utilized in a 2-yr study to evaluate …

Backgrounding Calf Management Strategies Using Corn Residue And Double Cropped Forages, Jordan L. Cox-O'Neill

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Approximately 70% of calves in the U.S. are born in the spring and weaned in the fall, this results in a large supply of calves potentially available for backgrounding over the winter. Backgrounding systems positively impact the beef industry by efficiently using forage resources available. These systems also provide production value by enhancing the calf’s frame size, mature BW (increase HCW), and health prior to entering the feedlot. In Nebraska opportunities to integrate both crop and livestock production, by backgrounding calves abound. Approximately 13,100 metric tons of corn residue or 34,000 Animal Unit Months are available for grazing in Nebraska. …