The Influence of Oral Administration of Diethylstilbestrol to Beef Cattle

Abstract

Five feeding experiments with yearling steers or heifers were conducted using high-grain fattening rations, high-roughage growing rations, or rations intermediate in grain and roughage content in studying the influence of oral administration of diethylstilbestrol upon liveweight gains and feed requirements per unit of liveweight gain. In each experiment and on each type of ration, liveweight gains were increased (averaging 20 percent) and feed requirements in producing a given gain were reduced (averaging 11 percent) by incorporating stilbestrol in the feed in effective amounts (averaging between 5 and 10 mg. of stilbestrol per animal per day). The presence of stilbestrol in the feed increased feed consumption of the cattle an average of about 5 percent. The response of oral administration of stilbestrol was equally as effective the last half of the feeding periods as the first half when all 5 experiments were considered. No observable undesirable side effects from stilbestrol feeding occurred in any of the experiments similar to those reported by other means of stilbestrol administration. Copyright © . .