Effects of various concentrations of soybean hull supplementation on performance, digestion and serum chemistry of weaned beef cattle fed ryegrass baleage

Graded concentrations of soybean hull pellets (SHP) fed to calves consuming annual ryegrass baleage was evaluated in two experiments. Experiment one evaluated performance and serum glucose of animals fed three treatments. Treatments were: 0.0% (TRT 0), 0.5% (TRT 0.5), 1.0% (TRT 1) body weight (BW) of SHP fed daily while calves had ad libitum access to baleage. Average daily gain and BW increased for calves receiving TRT 1 (P \u3c 0.05). Experiment two evaluated passage rate of treatments using ytterbium chloride as a marker. Passage rate of diet decreased for TRT 1 compared to TRT 0 (10.9 h vs. 16.72 h TRT 1 and TRT 0 respectively, P \u3c 0.05). Calves receiving TRT 0.5 had greater ADG than calves fed TRT 0 (0.54 kg/d and 0.30 kg/d respectively; P \u3c 0.05). Diet passage rate decreased as supplement amount increased (P \u3c 0.05). Serum glucose concentrations were not affected