Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2012, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (4): 761-767.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2012.04.017

• ANIMAL SCIENCE·RESOURCE INSECT • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Dietary Urea Supplementation Level on Growth Performance and Blood Biochemical Indices in Growing-Finishing Cattle

 JIANG  Lan, MENG  Qing-Xiang, REN  Li-Ping, HUO  Yun-Long, WANG  Li-Wen, DING  Jian, ZHAO  Jin-Wei   

  1. 1.中国农业大学动物科技学院/动物营养学国家重点实验室，北京 100193
    2.中国饲料工业协会，北京 100026
    3.北京金维福仁清真食品有限公司，北京 102611
  • Received:2011-04-25 Online:2012-02-15 Published:2011-06-01

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Abstract: 【Objective】A feeding trial was designed to investigate the effect of dietary urea levels on growth performance and blood biochemical indexes of growth-finishing cattle for providing a theoretical basis for the optimum level of urea supplementation in beef cattle diet.【Method】 Sixty growing-finishing Limousin×Fuzhou crossbred bulls were randomly selected and divided into six groups with 10 bulls in each treatment group. The treatment diets were six supplemental urea levels (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0%) in the complete diet and contained similar CP and ME concentrations (14%CP, 11.3 MJ•kg-1 on DM basis). The trail was lasted for a total of 14 wks including 1 wk for adaptation and 13 wks for data collection. 【Result】 As dietary urea level increased, daily DM intake was not different significantly (P＞0.10), but ADG was linearly decreased (L, P＜0.05), and feed conversion efficiency (DMI/ADG) was linearly increased (L; P＜0.05). There was no significant response in ADG and feed conversion efficiency (DMI/ADG) within 0.8% of dietary urea level. Increasing dietary urea-N level resulted in remarkable increases in plasma ammonia (L, P＜0.001), total proteins (Q, P＜0.001) and urea-N (Q; P＜0.05) with break points of total plasma proteins and plasma urea-N appearing at 1.50% and 0.64% of dietary urea supplementation level, respectively. When dietary urea level increased, blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was unchanged significantly (P＞0.1), but aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity linearly increased (L, P＜0.001). Increasing dietary urea-N level quadratically (Q, P＜0.05) affected the concentrations of blood biochemical indices in relation to stress reaction, such as the activity of serum creatine kinase, concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), corticosteroid (COR) corticosterone and aldosterone (ALD) except epinephrine (E), with altered trends obtained between 0.8%-1.2% of dietary urea supplementation level. 【Conclusion】 Considering the result of the growth performance and blood biochemical indices, urea inclusion level of lower than 0.8% in the growing-finishing diet DM was be recommended as an optimal and safe level, which is equivalent to 16% of urea-N of total dietary N.

Key words: growing-finishing cattle, urea supplementation level, growth performance, blood biochemical indices

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