Revival performance of growing buffalo calves
fed on urea molasses liquid diet and roughage
as survival feed
A.K. Verma
*, R.S. Dass, U.R. Mehra
Nuclear Research Laboratory, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, UP, India
Received 27 July 1999; received in revised form 16 June 2000; accepted 6 July 2000
Abstract
The potential of urea molasses liquid diet (UMLD) with two levels of roughage as survival feed (Phase-I) and its impact on the performance during revival period (Phase-II) was studied on eight growing buffalo calves (209 kg mean body weight; 1 year age) divided into two equal groups in a completely randomised design. In the ®rst phase, the calves of both the groups were offered 3 kg UMLD (molasses 84%; urea 3%; mineral mixture 2%; phosphoric acid 1% and protein pellets 1%) along with 500 and 1000 g wheat straw per 100 body weight in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Protein pellets, which were part of UMLD were given separately. In Phase-II, animals of both the groups were fed on similar diets consisting of ad libitum wheat straw and concentrate mixture (ground nut cake 33%; wheat bran 32%; crushed maize 32%; mineral mixture 2% and common salt 1%) as per their requirements to attain 500 g daily growth. At the termination of each phase of 120 days, a metabolism trial of 6 days duration was conducted. The animals fed UMLD along with 1000 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight (Group 2), though, consumed signi®cantly more of almost all the nutrients, except comparable DM and OM, during Phase-I, the digestibility of DM, OM and EE was higher in Group 1, however, digestibility of other nutrients was comparable between the groups. On the other hand, when the animals were shifted to revival diet (Phase-II), the intake and digestibility of all the nutrients were similar between the groups. The loss in body weight during survival feeding was 187.5 and 16.7 g daily in Group 1 and 2, respectively, which was compensated during revival feeding with an average daily gain of 449.9 and 337.5 g in corresponding groups. Though the differences were insigni®cant, the animals fed UMLD along with 500 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight (Group 1) could not attain body weight similar to the animals of Group 2. Plane of nutrition and retention of nutrients were largely similar in calves of both the groups during both the periods. Since, the feeding of UMLD along with 1000 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight resulted in minimal body weight loss, it can be practiced as potential survival feed during feed
87 (2000) 253±261
*Corresponding author. Tel.:91-581-442313; fax:91-581-447284.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.K. Verma).
scarcity without any adverse impact on the performance of buffalo calves during revival period.
#2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Urea; Molasses; Liquid diet; Wheat straw; Buffalo
1. Introduction
The major constraint in livestock production in most of the developing countries is shortage of feeds/fodders caused by ¯oods/droughts, which sometimes results in heavy stock losses. Under such situations our main thrust should be to ensure survival of our livestock followed by subsequent production from such animals. Survival feeding of cattle with grain has been clearly demonstrated (Ryley et al., 1960; Morris, 1968), however, it has not been widely accepted due to heavy stock losses owing to the dif®culties in regulating intakes. On the other hand such feeding system would be dif®cult to apply in Third World Countries like India since we can not afford to feed the grains to the livestock under the present food crisis. Discouraging results were obtained when urea was used as a sole source of protein nitrogen without feeding concentrates (Gupta et al., 1970). However, survival feeds based on urea, molasses alongwith various combinations have been used experimentally in India (Ranjhan et al., 1973; Pathak et al., 1976; Daniel et al., 1984, 1986; Mehra et al., 1994a,b; Verma et al., 1994, 1995; Sengar et al., 1995; Dass et al., 1996a,b) and abroad (Elias et al., 1967; Butler, 1971; Wythes and Ernst, 1983; Gulbransen, 1985a,b; Preston, 1987). These studies have clearly demonstrated that survival feeding of animals solely on the liquid feeds are very dif®cult and results in problems of various degrees. Therefore, supplementation of urea molasses liquid diet (UMLD) with roughage is essential for survival of animals (Ichhponani et al., 1993; Dass et al., 1996a,b). Hence, in the present investigation an attempt has been made to ascertain the potential of urea molasses liquid diet (UMLD) with two levels of roughage as survival feed (Phase-I) and its impact on the performance of growing buffalo calves during revival period (Phase-II).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Animals, feeding and management
Experiment was conducted in two phases, each of 120 days, using eight growing buffalo calves (209 kg mean body weight; 1 year age) housed and fed individually and divided into two groups following completely randomised block design. In the ®rst phase of 120 days duration, the calves of both the groups were offered 3 kg UMLD (molasses 84%; urea 3%; mineral mixture 2%; phosphoric acid 1%; protein pellets 10% as fresh basis) along with 500 and 1000 g wheat straw (on fresh basis) per 100 kg body weight in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Protein pellets which were part of UMLD were given separately. In Phase-II, which also lasted for 120 days, animals of both the groups were fed on similar diets consisting of ad libitum wheat straw and concentrate mixture (ground
nut cake 33%; wheat bran 32%; crushed maize 32%; mineral mixture 2% and common salt 1%) as per their requirements (Kearl, 1982). Fortnightly body weights were also recorded throughout the experimental period to arrive at body weight change and average daily gain.
2.2. Metasbolism trial and sample analysis
At the termination of each phase of 120 days, a metabolism trial of 6 days duration was conducted involving total quantitative collection of faeces and urine and recording of feed and residue by harnessing all the animals in metabolism cages to assess plane of nutrition and utilisation of nutrients. The proximate composition of feeds and faecal samples was determined as per AOAC (1990) methods. Nitrogen content in feed, faeces and urine was determined by micro-Kjeldhal method and crude protein calculated as N6:25. The contents of neutral detergent ®bre (NDF), acid detergent ®bre (ADF) and cellulose were analysed using methods described by Van Soest et al. (1991). Hemicellulose content was arrived at by subtracting ADF from NDF. Mineral extract of these samples were prepared (AOAC, 1990) and analysed for calcium as per Talapatra et al. (1940) and for phosphorus colorimetrically involving molybdovanadate reagent (AOAC, 1980).
2.3. Statistical analysis
The data were subjected to a test of signi®cance between diets in each phase using Student'st-test (Steel and Torrie, 1980).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Composition of dietary ingredients
The chemical composition of feed offered to experimental animals during both the phases is given in Table 1. Urea molasses liquid diet (UMLD) contained 22.4% CP, which
Table 1
Chemical composition of dietary ingredientsa
Attributes OM CP EE NDF ADF Hemicellulose Cellulose Calcium Phosphorus
UMLD 87.62 22.40 0.48 ± ± ± ± 1.83 0.50
Protein pellets 89.75 32.41 3.90 35.52 14.75 20.77 10.52 1.02 0.95 Concentrate mixture 91.46 21.02 3.22 39.29 13.99 25.30 9.84 1.05 0.64 Wheat straw (Phase-I) 91.60 3.71 0.90 83.89 53.29 30.60 45.53 0.39 0.06 Wheat straw (Phase-II) 91.14 3.23 0.78 85.66 54.84 30.82 43.42 0.38 0.06
aComposition of protein pellets (ingredients percentage on fresh basis): deoiled rice bran 2; mustard oil cake
corroborates well with the reported values of various workers (Mehra et al., 1994b; Verma et al., 1994; Sengar et al., 1995; Dass et al., 1996a,b). Composition of wheat straw during both the phases was similar.
3.2. Intake and digestibility of nutrients
The animals fed UMLD along with 1000 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight (Group 2) consumed signi®cantly more of almost all the nutrients, except comparable DM and OM during Phase-I as compared to Group 1 (Table 2). Although, the intake of DM and OM also tended to be higher by 30%, when animals were given increased amount of wheat straw from 500 to 1000 g per 100 kg body weight. However, differences did not vary signi®cantly due to wider individual variation in DM consumption by the animals. Although, intake of all these nutrients was comparable between two groups during Phase-II when the animals were offered revival diet comprising of concentrate mixture and ad libitum wheat straw. Similar observations have been reported by Sengar et al. (1995) in growing Murrah buffaloes and Dass et al. (1996a) in growing crossbred heifers fed on UMLD and 500 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight. Moreover, Mehra et al. (1994a) also found comparable intake in crossbred heifers fed UMLD and 500 g dry matter (wheat straw and green oats in equal parts) per 100 kg body weight. In the present study, inclusion of wheat straw to UMLD based ration at both the levels resulted in an increased consumption of all the nutrients as compared to the earlier reports of Verma et al. (1994) and Mehra et al. (1994b), when they offered UMLD without roughage to growing crossbred heifers.
The digestibility of DM, OM and EE was higher in Group 1, however, digestibility of other nutrients was comparable between the groups (Phase-I). On the other hand, when the animals were shifted to revival diet of concentrate mixture and wheat straw during Phase-II of experimentation, the digestibility of all the nutrients was similar between the groups. Decreased digestibilty of DM, OM and EE in Group 2 may be attributed to 30% increased intake of wheat straw, which is poorly digestible and change in the retention time due to increased intake. Verma et al. (1994) and Mehra et al. (1994b) reported comparatively higher digestibility values for all the nutrients in growing crossbred heifers offered UMLD as sole diet. Similar observations during revival period were also obtained in crossbred calves by Daniel et al. (1986). Intake and digestibility of nutrients between groups during Phase-II were alike, which clearly indicated that shorter period of under feeding with varying levels of roughage did not have any adverse impact on the intake and digestibility of dietary nutrients in buffalo calves.
3.3. Body weight change and plane of nutrition
Initial body weight as well as change in body weight during Phase-I and II are presented in Table 3 and depicted graphically in Fig. 1. At the start of the experiment, initial body weights of the animals in both the groups were identical. During ®rst phase of 120 days experimental feeding (Phase-I, survival feeding) animals of Group 1 and 2 daily lost their body weight by 187.5 and 16.7 g, respectively. Comparatively lower
body weight loss in animals of Group 2 was clearly due to the roughage feeding at higher level. Gulbransen (1985a) also observed similar trend of reduced weight loss in cattle with almost similar type of survival feed. Wythes and Ernst (1983) also reported loss in body weight in heifers fed on urea, molasses and sorghum grain but mean loss was Table 2
Intake (g per day) and digestibility (%) of nutrients during and post UMLD feedinga
Attributes Phase-I Phase-II
Group 1 Group 2 SEM Group 1 Group 2 SEM
Dry matter Intake, through:
UMLD 1767.3 1752.4 91.29 ± ± ±
Protein pellets 274.0 274.0 ± ± ± ±
Concentrate mixture ± ± ± 1547.0 1570.8 94.70
Wheat straw* 948.2a 1851.2 b 3261.7 3153.5 405.61
Total intake 2989.4 3877.6 287.95 4808.7 4724.3 495.80
Digestible intake 1708.7 1947.2 213.37 2460.1 2376.0 234.05
Digestibility** 57.3 b 50.3 a 1.22 51.4 50.4 1.24
Organic matter
Intake 2663.5 3477.6 260.39 4387.5 4310.7 452.17
Digestible intake 1579.6 1815.2 122.98 2361.4 2303.1 228.09
Digestibility** 59.5 b 52.3 a 1.17 54.0 53.5 1.18
Crude protein
Intake** 521.1a 592.7b 12.99 430.6 432.1 32.53
Digestible intake 298.8 307.9 10.44 251.5 232.3 20.33
Digestibility 57.4 52.1 2.19 58.6 53.5 1.62
Ether extract
Intake* 27.9 a 36.0 b 2.17 75.3 75.2 6.13
Digestible intake 22.5 23.7 1.25 55.3 49.8 4.29
Digestibility** 81.0 b 66.0 a 2.05 73.4 b 66.4 a 1.31
NDF
Intake* 892.7 a 1650.2 b 178.97 3401.8 3318.5 382.67
Digestible intake 340.2 616.7 86.33 1710.8 1547.1 175.28
Digestibility 37.6 36.9 1.74 50.6 46.7 1.83
ADF
Intake* 545.7 a 1026.9 b 113.71 2005.1 1949.1 234.95
Digestible intake** 187.6 a 379.1 b 32.36 802.9 742.5 96.50
Digestibility 33.8 37.8 2.12 40.2 38.0 1.51
Hemicellulose
Intake* 347.0 a 623.4 b 65.28 1396.6 1369.3 147.76
Digestible intake 182.5 296.7 42.47 798.2 804.6 74.82
Digestibility 52.3 46.8 2.28 57.9 59.0 2.67
Cellulose
Intake* 431.7 a 842.8 b 97.15 1568.5 1773.8 185.79
Digestible intake* 182.0 a 401.1 56.25 857.4 848.7 107.74
Digestibility 42.3 46.9 1.89 54.7 55.5 1.00
much higher (490 g per day) probably due to the shorter period of study. In the present experiment, it was interesting to note that the animals lost their body weight only during the early part of the survival feeding, later on they maintained their body weight (Fig. 1). During Phase-II, when the animals were shifted to the revival diet of concentrate mixture and ad libitum wheat straw feeding, average daily weight gain was 449.9 and 337.5 g in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Though the animals of Group 1 could not attain body weight as that of Group 2, it was clear that these animals compensated their body weight by gaining more during revival period. These ®ndings are in accordance with the earlier reports of Daniel et al. (1986) in crossbred calves and Dass et al. (1996a) in crossbred heifers fed urea molasses liquid diet with limited amount of roughage.
Intake of all the nutrients (g per day, g 100 kgÿ1
body weight and g kg Wÿ0.75 ) was largely similar in both the groups within each phase except intake of dry matter as g kg Wÿ0.75
, which was signi®cantly higher in Group 2 during Phase-I, obviously due to Table 3
Body weight change and plane of nutrition in buffalo calvesa
Attributes Phase-I Phase-II
Group 1 Group 2 SEM Group 1 Group 2 SEM
Body weight change
Initial body weight (kg) 208.3 209.5 30.88 185.8 207.5 24.23 Final body weight (kg) 185.8 207.5 24.23 239.8 251.0 25.75
Days in experiment 120 120 ± 120 120 ±
Daily weight gain (g) ÿ187.5 ÿ16.7 66.93 449.9 337.5 36.05 Plane of nutrition
Body weight (kg) 185.8 207.5 24.23 239.8 251.0 25.75
Metabolic body weight (kg Wÿ0.75) 50.2 54.4 4.75 60.8 62.9 4.80
Dry matter intake
g per day 2989.4 3877.6 287.95 4808.7 4724.3 495.80
g 100 kgÿ1body weight 1637.7 1894.3 84.51 2012.5 1877.2 39.82
g kg Wÿ0.75** 60.3 a 71.3 b 1.86 79.0 74.5 2.39
Crude protein intake
g per day 521.1 592.7 12.99 430.5 432.1 32.53
g 100 kgÿ1body weight 287.9 297.7 27.23 181.2 173.7 5.29
g kg Wÿ0.75 10.9 11.2 0.72 7.1 6.9 0.05
DCP intake
g per day 298.8 307.9 10.44 251.5 232.3 20.33
g 100 kgÿ1body weight 165.4 157.5 19.78 106.1 92.9 4.06
g kg Wÿ0.75 6.1 5.9 0.59 4.2 3.7 0.12
TDN intake
g per day 1609.1 1844.8 125.33 2430.6 2365.3 233.21
g 100 kgÿ1body weight 886.9 903.5 56.30 1020.6 941.1 21.58
g kg Wÿ0.75 32.5 34.0 1.36 40.0 36.6 1.42
aValues bearing different letters in a row within a phase differ signi®cantly: **P<0:01.
higher level of wheat straw feeding in this group. Intake of dry matter and energy (TDN) was comparatively higher during Phase-II due to the higher requirements of these nutrients for compensatory growth. Contrary to this, CP intake was signi®cantly lower during revival feeding than survival feeding which might be due to the reason that animals during Phase-I were given urea (NPN) as main source of protein which was replaced by concentrate mixture during Phase-II. Similar results have also been reported by Yambayamba and Price (1991) in beef heifers. Saubidet and Verde (1976) in an experiment with steers observed that more severe the restriction, the greater tendency to compensate by consuming more feed. In the present experiment, compensatory tendency was less as the degree of feed restriction was limited as compared to previous experiment (Verma et al., 1995).
3.4. Balance of nutrients
Animals of both the groups during both the phases were in positive nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus balance (Table 4). In spite of very high positive nitrogen balance during Phase-I in both the groups, animals lost their body weight, reasons of which could not be explained. However, similar type of higher nitrogen retention has been reported in several studies where urea (NPN) has been used as a main dietary protein source (Mehra et al., 1994b; Dass et al., 1996a,b). Wythes and Ernst (1983) also reported that increasing amount of molasses containing 3% urea caused the body weight loss in heifers. In another experiment on steers mean live weight loss of 490 g per day was observed when fed with molasses, urea and sorghum grain.
4. Conclusion
Since the feeding UMLD along with 1000 g wheat straw per 100 kg body weight resulted in minimal body weight loss, it can be practiced as potential survival feed during feed scarcity without any adverse impact on the performance of buffalo calves during revival period.
References
A.O.A.C., 1980. Of®cial Methods of Analysis, 13th Edition. Association of Of®cial Analytical Chemists. Washington, DC.
A.O.A.C., 1990. Of®cial Methods of Analysis, 15th Edition. Association of Of®cial Analytical Chemists. Washington, DC.
Butler, T.M., 1971. Molasses as a supplement to silage and straw. Farm Food Res. 2, 105±106.
Daniel, S.J., Hasan, Q.Z., Nath, K., 1984. Urea molasses liquid diet as a feed for calves. Indian J. Anim. Sci. 50, 149±151.
Daniel, S.J., Hasan, Q.Z., Nath, K., 1986. Compensatory growth in crossbred calves fed on urea molasses liquid diet. Indian J. Anim. Sci. 56, 979±981.
Dass, R.S., Verma, A.K., Mehra, U.R., 1996a. Compensatory growth and nutrient utilisation in crossbred heifers during revival period fed urea molasses liquid diet. Asian Australasian J. Anim. Sci. 9, 563±566. Dass, R.S., Verma, A.K., Mehra, U.R., 1996b. Effect of feeding urea molasses liquid diet on nutrient utilisation,
rumen fermentation pattern and blood pro®le in adult male buffaloes. Buffalo J. 12, 11±22. Table 4
Daily retention (g) of nutrients by buffalo calvesa
Attributes Phase-I Phase-II
Group 1 Group 2 SEM Group 1 Group 2 SEM
Nitrogen
Intake* 83.4 a 94.8 b 2.06 68.9 69.1 5.20
Faecal excretion* 35.6 a 45.6 b 2.76 28.7 32.0 2.37
Urinary excretion 32.0 32.8 0.91 22.4 21.5 2.53
Total loss** 67.6 a 78.4 b 2.68 51.1 53.5 4.67
Retained 15.8 16.4 1.30 17.9 15.6 1.13
Calcium
Intake 38.8 42.1 2.35 28.9 28.5 2.59
Faecal excretion 33.6 37.6 2.98 22.5 22.3 2.70
Urinary excretion 2.0 2.2 0.16 1.2 1.2 0.19
Total loss 35.6 39.8 2.25 23.7 23.5 2.81
Retained 3.2 2.3 0.16 5.2 5.0 0.79
Phosphorus
Intake 12.0 12.5 0.56 11.6 11.9 0.84
Faecal excretion 9.2 9.8 0.41 8.7 9.2 1.11
Urinary excretion 0.8 0.8 0.11 0.2 0.2 0.05
Total loss 10.0 10.6 0.49 8.9 9.4 1.10
Retained 2.1 1.9 0.15 2.7 2.6 0.47
aValues bearing different letters in a row within a phase differ signi®cantly: *P<0:05; **P<0:01.
Elias, A., Preston, T.R., Willis, M.B., Sutherland, T.M., 1967. By-product of sugarcane and intensive beef production. 4. Fattening bulls with molasses and urea in place of grain in diets with little ®bre. Rev. Cub. Cienc. Agric., 5:59 (Fide Nutr. Abst. Rev. 39:628).
Gulbransen, B., 1985a. Survival feeding of cattle with molasses. 1. Feeding of non-pregnant heifers with molasses plus urea and roughage. Aust. J. Expt. Agric. 25, 1±3.
Gulbransen, B., 1985b. Survival feeding of cattle with molasses. 2. Feeding steers with molasses/urea plus either sorghum grain (Sorghum vulgare) or cotton seed meal (Gossipum hirsutum). Aust. J. Expt. Agric. 25, 4±8. Gupta, B.S., Satapathy, N., Chabra, S.S., Ranjhan, S.K., 1970. Urea as a sole source of nitrogen in growing
buffalo calves. Indian J. Dairy Sci. 24, 7±11.
Ichhponani, J.S., Kakkar, V.K., Makkar, G.S., 1993. Feasibility of raising dairy animals on urea molasses liquid feeds as a famine ration. In: Prodeedings of the 6th Animal Nutrition Research Workers Conference, 13±16 September, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, India.
Kearl, L.C., 1982. Nutrient Requirements of Ruminants in Developing Countries. International Feedstuffs Institute, Utah State University, Logan, UT, p. 82.
Mehra, U.R., Dass, R.S., Varshney, V.P., Verma, A.K., 1994a. Response of urea molasses liquid diet on the performance and thyroid gland activity in crossbred heifers (Bos indicusBos taurus). J. Nuclear Agric. Biol. 23, 33±38.
Mehra, U.R., Verma, A.K., Varshney, V.P., Kumar, H., Dass, R.S., 1994b. Urea molasses liquid diet as sole ration. A long term feeding experiment on crossbred heifers to study nutrient utilisation, growth and thyroid gland activity. World Rev. Anim. Prod. 29, 65±71.
Morris, J.G., 1968. The survival feeding of beef cattle during drought. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 7, 20±39. Pathak, N.N., Krishnamohan, D.V.G., Ranjhan, S.K., Katiyar, R.C., Bhat, P.N., 1976. Utilisation of urea molasses liquid diet alongwith limited amount of intact protein and cereal forage for milk production in crossbred (Bos indicusBos taurus) cows. 2. Effect on digestibility coef®cients and ef®ciency of energy and nitrogen utilisation for milk production. Indian J. Anim. Sci. 43, 821±825.
Preston, T.R., 1987. Molasses as animal feed: an overview. In: Sansoucy, R., Aarts, G., Preston, T.R. (Eds.), FAO Expert Consultation on Sugarcane as Feed. FAO, Rome.
Ranjhan, S.K., Sawhney, P.C., Jayal, M.M., 1973. Application of life saving research in animal feeding. Farm Information Unit, Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi, India.
Ryley, J.W., Gartner, R.J.W., Morris, J.G., 1960. Drought feeding studies with cattle. 5. The use of sorghum grain as a drought feed for non-pregnant heifers. Queensland J. Agri. Sci. 17, 339±359.
Saubidet, C.L., Verde, L.S., 1976. Relationship between liveweight, age and dry matter intake for beef cattle after different levels of food restriction. Anim. Prod. 22, 61±69.
Sengar, S.S., Verma, A.K., Varshney, V.P., Mehra, U.R., 1995. Effect of feeding urea molasses liquid diet feeding on the growth performance, blood pro®le and thyroid gland activity in buffalo heifers in early stage of growth. Buffalo J. 11, 157±163.
Steel, R.G.D., Torrie, J.H., 1980. Principles and Procedures of Statistics, 2nd Edition. McGraw Hill, New York, USA.
Talapatra, S.K., Roy, S.C., Sen, K.C., 1940. Estimation of phosphorus, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in food-stuffs. Indian J. Vet. Sci. Anim. Husb. 10, 243±258.
Van Soest, P.J., Robertson, J.B., Lewis, B.A., 1991. Methods for dietary ®bre, neutral detergent ®bre and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. J. Dairy Sci. 74, 3583±3597.
Verma, A.K., Dass, R.S., Mehra, U.R., 1994. Response of urea molasses liquid diet feeding on growth performance, nutrient utilisation and thyroid gland activity in crossbred heifers. World Rev. Anim. Prod. 29, 101±107.
Verma, A.K., Mehra, U.R., Dass, R.S., Varshney, V.P., Kumar, H., 1995. Performance of crossbred heifers during revival period after long term scarcity feeding. J. Appl. Anim. Res. 8, 63±70.
Wythes, J.R., Ernst, A.J., 1983. Molasses as a drought feed. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 15, 213±276. Yambayamba, E., Price, M.A., 1991. Growth performance and carcass composition in beef heifers undergoing
