Zoo-technical responses of growing cattle fed sun-dried brewers’ spent grain at 20% of dietary inclusion

Bulletin of the National Research Centre

Table 3 Growth rate, feed conversion ratio, and feeding economics in experimental cattle

Attribute	T1	T2
Initial body weight (kg)	59.7 ± 6.0	58.8 ± 5.70
Final body weight (kg)	101 ± 9.50	106 ± 8.0
Total body weight gain (kg)^a	41.3 ± 2.94	47.2 ± 2.34
Average daily body weight gain (g)^b	393^a ± 14.9	450^b ± 22.1
Feed conversion ratio^c	7.51^a ± 0.52	6.60^b ± 0.37
Energy conversion ratio^d	0.64 ± 0.04	0.57 ± 0.04
Protein conversion ratio^e	0.94 ± 0.03	0.87 ± 0.04
Economics^f
Cost of green oats consumed (INR/d)	4.1 ± 0.10	4.1 ± 0.10
Cost of paddy straw consumed (INR/d)	10.8 ± 0.20	9.2 ± 0.30
Cost of concentrate mixture consumed (INR/d)	32.8 ± 2.0	30.3 ± 1.80
Total feed cost (INR/d)	47.7 ± 9.50	43.6 ± 9.0
Feed cost for growth (INR/kg)^g	121 ± 24.6	96.9 ± 20.0
Relative feed cost (%)^h	–	80.1

^aFinal body weight (kg) − initial body weight (kg)
^bTotal body weight gain (kg) ÷ duration of experimental feeding (days)
^cDry matter intake (kg/d) ÷ average daily gain (kg/d)
^dMetabolisable energy intake (MJ/d) ÷ average daily gain (kg/d)
^eCrude protein intake (kg/d) ÷ average daily gain (kg/d)
^fBased on prevailing market prices (INR/kg) for green oats (2), paddy straw (6), concentrate mixture-T1 (20) and T2 (18.6; including sun-dried brewers’ spent grain at INR 13)
^gFeed cost (INR/d) ÷ average daily gain (kg/d)
^h(Feed cost for growth in T2 ÷ feed cost for growth in T1) × 100
Mean values in the same row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05)
T1: Control diet; T2: Sun-dried brewers’ spent grain-based diet