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Limiting Intake Of Finishing Diets By Restricting Access Time To Feed And The Interaction With Monensin, C. P. Birkelo, J. Lounsbery

South Dakota Beef Report, 1992

One hundred seventy-six yearling steers were randomly allotted to 16 pens and fed ad libitum or restricted amounts of finishing diets with or without monensin. lntake of the restricted cattle was limited by allowing only 6 to 7 hours access time to feed per day. All cattle were fed once daily. Monensin and restricting access time reduced feed intake by 5.6% and 7.9% (P<.01), respectively. lntake tended to be lowest for restricted cattle fed monensin (P=.13). lntake of restricted cattle as a percent of ad libitum intake varied greatly during the study. This may have contributed to the 7% reduction in daily gain of the restricted-monensin fed cattle and the fact that only nonsignificant trends toward improved feed efficiency due to intake restriction were found (P=.13). Factors affecting rate of feed intake must be considered if limited access time is to be used successfully to improve feed efficiency.