The Effects of Dried Distillers Grains on Heifers Consuming Low or High Quality Forage

Two forage sources, high and low quality, were used to evaluate effects of five levels of dried distillers grains on forage intake. Ninety heifer calves were fed high or low quality forage, supplemented with 0, 1.5, 3, 4.5, or 6 lb DM dried distillers grains. Forage intakes linearly decreased as dried distillers grains increased. Average daily gain increased linearly with increased dried distillers grains indicating that dried distillers grains can be a protein and energy supplement source and a substitute for forage. Dried distillers grains are an economical supplement to cattle on either high or low quality forage diets.