The Influence of Residual Feed Intake and Cow Age on Beef Cattle Performance, Supplement Intake, Resource Use, and Grazing Behavior on Winter Mixed-Grass Rangelands

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of RFI and cow age on the supplement intake and grazing behavior of beef cattle. Average daily supplement intake (kg/cow/d) displayed an RFI × cow age interaction (p p −1 ∙ d−1) displayed an RFI × cow age interaction (p p = 0.01). Cow age displayed a quadratic effect on variation of supplement intake (p p p = 0.02), where high-RFI 5-year-old cows traveled further per day than low 5-year-old RFI cows. The probability of grazing site selection was influenced by cow age (p ≤ 0.03). In summary, heifer post-weaning RFI had minimal effects on beef cattle performance, grazing behavior, or resource utilization; however, cow age impacted both grazing behavior and resource use.

Keywords

• beef cattle
• cow age
• grazing behavior
• residual feed intake (RFI), resource use
• supplement intake