Effect of continuous or intermittent feeding of ergot contaminated grain in a mash or pelleted form on the performance and health of feedlot beef steers

• Published in: Journal of animal science 2024-01, Vol.102
• Main Authors: Reynolds, Matthew R, Stanford, Kim, Meléndez, Daniela M, Schwartzkopf-Genswein, Karen S, McAllister, Tim A, Blakley, Barry R, McKinnon, John J, Ribeiro, Gabriel O
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Cattle; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements; Edible Grain; Ergot Alkaloids; Silage - analysis
• ISSN: 0021-8812; 1525-3163
• DOI: 10.1093/jas/skae060

This study evaluated the effect of feeding ergot contaminated grain continuously or intermittently through backgrounding (BG) and finishing (FN) in a mash or pelleted supplement on the growth performance, health and welfare parameters, and carcass characteristics of feedlot beef steers. Sixty black Angus steers (300 ± 29.4 kg BW) were used in a complete randomized 238-d study. Steers were stratified by weight and randomly assigned to four different diets (15 steers/treatment) and individually housed. Treatments included: (1) control [CON; no added ergot alkaloids (EA)], (2) continuous ergot mash (CEM; fed continuously at 2 mg total EA/kg of DM), (3) intermittent ergot mash (IEM; fed at 2 mg total EA/kg of DM, during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk, this feeding pattern was repeated in each period), and (4) intermittent ergot pellet (IEP; fed at 2 mg of total EA/kg of DM as a pellet during the first week of each 21-d period and CON for the remaining 2 wk as described for IEM). Steers were fed barley based BG diets containing 40% concentrate:60% silage (DM basis) for 84 d (four 21-d periods), transitioned over 28 d (no ergot fed) to an FN diet (90% concentrate:10% silage DM basis) and fed for 126 d (six 21-d periods) before slaughter. In the BG phase, steer DMI (P