The performance of cattle fed crushed sorghum, and whole, crushed or dehulled rice grain based rations

Abstract

Santa Gertrudis and Africander crossbred steers were fed rations based on crushed sorghum, whole paddy rice, crushed paddy rice and whole dehulled rice grains for 111 days. The animals were then slaughtered and their carcase quality and composition was assessed. The animals fed the crushed sorghum had the highest dry matter intake and liveweight gains but those fed the crushed rice had the lowest feed conversion ratio. The group fed the paddy rice, ate the least, gained the least weight and had the highest feed conversion ratio. Carcases from the group fed crushed sorghum had the highest weight, appraisal scores and fat content. Carcases from the group fed whole paddy rice were the lightest, scored lowest for quality and had the highest bone and muscle contents. There were significant correlation coefficients between liveweight gain and all carcase measurements; this suggests that the type of feedlot ration had little effect on carcase development.