Compensatory Growth of Beef Cattle: The Effect of Protein Supplements

Wintering beef calves fed hay harvested at an early stage of maturity gained significantly more than animals fed hay harvested later. During the following summer, the retarded cattle accelerated their growth rate and were as heavy the following fall as the non-restricted group. The feeding of protein supplements tended to mask the differences in nutritive value of hays harvested at different stages of maturity. Cattle that had been individually-fed during the winter gained faster the following summer than similar cattle group-fed during the winter. Protein supplements markedly increased the winter gains of the beef calves. However, the subsequent summer gains depended upon the type of protein supplement fed the preceding winter. Alfalfa stimulated the greatest summer gains; cottonseed meal the least; and the control animals without supplements were intermediate. With the exception of the alfalfa treatments, there was less difference in total gains between the control animals and the supplemented cattle at the end of the summer grazing season than at the end of the wintering period. All cattle that received protein supplements during the winter were heavier than the non-supplemented animals the following fall.