Composition and digestibility of cattle fecal waste

Abstract

Three digestion trials were conducted with six yearling steers to study the apparent digestibility of fecal waste from steers fed a ground, high roughage finishing ration. In the first trial the steers were fed a basal ration containing approximately 50% roughage. The feces collected during this trial were dried in a forced air oven at 120 C and ground. The chemical composition of the feces was 13.2% crude protein, 31.4% crude fiber, 2.8% ether extract, 5.4% ash, 47.2% NFE, 70.9% cell walls and 44.8% ADF, dry basis. During trials 2 and 3 a switch back design was used to study in vivo digestibility of the cattle fecal waste, which was substituted for 20% of the basal ration. Apparent digestibility of dry matter was 68.2% for the basal ration and 57.4% for the ration in which 20% dry fecal waste had been substituted (P