Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations by Author "Bailey, Eric"
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Item Implications of Castration on Cattle Performance Efficiency(2017-02-20) Foos, Samantha K; Bailey, EricABSTRACT Castration of male beef cattle is a common management practice in the United States. Recent anecdotal evidence suggests improved outcomes from a modified castration procedure where an incision is made in the scrotum immediately following application of a band to the scrotum. Thus, we compared the effect of various castration methods on performance using crossbred steers and bulls purchased from Producers Livestock Auction Company, in San Angelo, TX (n = 262; initial BW = 304 ± 47 kg). Calves were blocked by arrival date and stratified by body weight. (n = 7 total pens per treatment). Bulls were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) band plus incision using Callicrate Bander (BAND+; n = 67); 2) band only (BAND; n = 67); 3) surgical castration (SURG; n = 66). Steers castrated prior to arrival at the feedlot served as a control: 4) Control (CON; n = 62). Cattle were weighed on d 0, 33, and 61. Dry matter intake, ADG, G:F were recorded and calculated over the 61 d period. Steers castrated upon arrival had lesser (P < 0.01) ADG from d 0 to 33 compared to the control group. From d 34 to d 61, ADG did not differ(P = 0.69) among. From d 0 to 61 all castration groups had lower ADG (P < 0.01) than control. Dry matter intake did not differ (P ≥ 0.21) among treatment groups d 0 to 33, 34 to 61, and 0 to 61. Gain to feed was greater for control from d 0 to 33 (P <0.01) and d 0 to 61 (P < 0.01) then cattle castrated upon arrival. From d 34 to 61 BAND cattle tended (P = 0.08) to have greater G:F than BAND+ and CON treatment. Under conditions of this experiment, modifying the band method of castration by making an incision in the scrotum after band placement did not affect performance of male beef cattle castrated upon feedlot arrival. Regardless of method used castration following feedlot arrival reduced growth performance of male beef calves.Item THE APPLICABILITY OF NEAR INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY TO PREDICT DRY MATTER INTAKE AND IN-VIVO NEUTRAL DETERGENT FIBER DIGESTIBILITY IN MATURE GELDINGS CONSUMING AN ALL-FORAGE DIET(2016-01-14) Wells, Lauren Anne; Baker, Lance; Bailey, EricAn experiment was conducted to investigate the applicability of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIR) to predict DMI and in-vivo NDF digestibility in horses. Nine mature, sedentary stock-type geldings, ranging from 10 to 20 yr of age were randomly assigned to one of three treatments within three simultaneous 3 x 3 Latin Squares to compare intakes and digestibilities of alfalfa (A), coastal Bermudagrass (C), and mixed grass hay (MGH). The 51-d study consisted of three 17-d periods. Each period consisted of a 4-d dietary adjustment period, 10-d feeding period, and 3-d total fecal collection period. Total fecal collections were conducted for 72 h, with feces collected and weighed every h. Representative hay and fecal samples were remitted to Dairy One Forage Lab (Ithaca, NY) for analysis. There was a main effect of treatment (P = 0.02) on overall mean DMI. Horses consuming A had a greater mean DMI (P = 0.02) as compared to horses consuming MGH (7.31 vs. 5.41 kg/d). Overall mean DMI for horses consuming A and C (7.31 vs. 6.79 kg/d) were similar (P = 0.71). Dry matter intake was negatively correlated (r = -0.44) with NIR analysis of NDF with sulfite and ash correction (aNDFom). Dry matter intake was significantly (P = 0.02) related to hay aNDFom; however, the R2 value was 0.17, which indicated that 17% of the variation in DMI could be explained by the aNDFom content of hay. Dry matter intake was negatively correlated (r = -0.45) with NIR analysis of undigested NDF at 30 h (uNDF30). Dry matter intake was significantly (P = 0.02) related to hay uNDF30; however, the R2 value was 0.17, which indicated that 17% of the variation in DMI was explained by the uNDF30 content of hay. There was a main effect of treatment on in-vivo NDF digestibility (P = 0.01). Correlations between in-vivo NDF digestibility and NIR hay analysis were not significant (P > 0.61) for aNDFom, uNDF30, or NDF digestibility at 30 h (NDFD30). Significant correlation coefficients between aNDFom content and in-vitro estimates were observed; 0.99 for uNDF30 and -0.68 for NDF digestibility at 30 h. Results from this study indicate that the use of NIR to estimate intake and in-vivo NDF digestibility in horses warrants further research. Perhaps the further collection of data will lead to development of NIR calibration equations that will be robust enough to predict NDF digestibility in horses.