Comparison of Confinement, Shelter and No Shelter for Finishing Yearling Steers

Abstract

Four winter and four summer trials were conducted over a 4-year period to compare the effects of confinement, shelter and no shelter on yearling steer performance in each season. Cattle in confinement, in open lots with shelter or in open lots without shelter consumed 6.29, and 6.67 kg of grain dry matter daily, respectively (P<.05). Grain dry matter consumption was greater (P<.01) in summer than in winter. An interaction (P<.01) of housing and season was evident for grain dry matter consumption. Cattle in open lots with access to shelter gained 1.22 kg, cattle without shelter gained 1.14 and those in confinement gained 1.12 kg daily. Cattle with shelter .gained faster (P<.05) than confined cattle. An interaction (P<.05) existed between housing and season for daily gain. Feed efficiency was not significantly affected by housing systems although trends did exist. In the eight trials, cattle with shelter required 5.46 units of grain dry matter per unit of live weight gain, confined cattle required units and those with no shelter required 5.90 units. Season nor the interaction of housing system and season did not significantly affect efficiency. These results suggest that feeding cattle in confinement cannot be expected to improve rate of gain or feed efficiency on a year-round basis. Copyright © 1977. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science.