Evaluación del grano de arroz con cáscara (GACC) como suplemento en la recría de terneros ofrecido en comederos de autoconsumo: Efecto sobre el crecimiento animal y eficiencia de uso del alimento

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation with unprocessed rice grain (GACC) offered in a self-feeding system on the growth and feed efficiency of calves grazing on winter forage crops. This experiment was conducted at the Intensive Meat Production Unit (UPIC) at the Mario A. Casinoni Experimental Station (EEMAC) in Paysandú, Uruguay, from July 6 to September 28, 2023.

A total of 36 nine-month-old Hereford calves born in the spring of 2022, with an average initial weight of 162 ± 13.5 kg, were used. The animals were divided into three treatments, each with three replicates, forming nine groups of four animals each. The three treatments were: control (no supplementation), daily supplementation at 1% of body weight (BW), and ad libitum feeding with a self-feeder. For all treatments, the base diet consisted of Lolium multiflorum cv Jack with an allocation of 2.5% of BW.

Supplementation with GACC affected the average daily gain (ADG) in the supplemented treatments compared to the control. Moreover, there was a significant difference in ADG and feed efficiency (FE) between the supplemented groups.

The control animals achieved an average gain of 0.638 kg/day, those receiving GACC daily at 1% BW gained 0.917 kg/day, and the ad libitum supplemented animals gained 1.25 kg/day. The feed conversion efficiency of the supplement for the latter two treatments was 8.23:1 and 5.57:1, respectively.

It was concluded that there is a response to GACC supplementation and that it is feasible to provide it in self-feeding troughs.