Utilization of exogenous enzymes in beef cattle creep feeds

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the inclusion of feed enzymes into beef cattle creep feeds. In the first one, the following treatments were tested in vitro: (1) 100% bermudagrass (GRASS); (2) a mixture of 75% bermudagrass and 25% creep feed (CREEP); (3) CREEP enhanced with endo-1,4-β-xylanase (XYLAN); (4) CREEP enhanced with endo-1,3(4)-β-glucanase (BGLUC). Degradation of fibre was greatest (P ≤ 0.03) for BGLUC, whereas in vitro dry matter digestibility was greatest (P = 0.01) for XYLAN. In the second experiment, cow-calf pairs from 2 farms were split into 3 groups: (1) Group with no supplementation of calves (NO FEED); (2) Group where calves were supplemented in a creep feeding system (PLAIN FEED); and (3) Same feed regimen as PLAIN FEED, but with the addition of endo-1,4-β-xylanase due to the positive results observed in experiment 1 (ENZYME FEED). There was a numerical increase in calf average daily gain in the 2 groups that were supplemented, however, only ENZYME FEED was significantly different (P ≤ 0.03) than NO FEED. At one farm, supplement gain:feed was improved (P = 0.01) in ENZYME FEED, compared to PLAIN FEED. Collectively, these results indicate that xylanase can be used to enhance beef cattle creep feeds.