Article

 

Effect of Feeding Selenium-Fertilized Alfalfa Hay on Performance of Weaned Beef Calves Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/tm70mw09r

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in cattle, and Se-deficiency can affect morbidity and mortality. Calves may have greater Se requirements during periods of stress, such as during the transitional period between weaning and movement to a feedlot. Previously, we showed that feeding Se-fertilized forage increases whole-blood (WB) Se concentrations in mature beef cows. Our current objective was to test whether feeding Se-fertilized forage increases WB-Se concentrations and performance in weaned beef calves. Recently weaned beef calves (n = 60) were blocked by body weight, randomly assigned to 4 groups, and fed an alfalfa hay based diet for 7 wk, which was harvested from fields fertilized with sodium-selenate at a rate of 0, 22.5, 45.0, or 89.9 g Se/ha. Blood samples were collected weekly and analyzed for WB-Se concentrations. Body weight and health status of calves were monitored during the 7-wk feeding trial. Increasing application rates of Se fertilizer resulted in increased alfalfa hay Se content for that cutting of alfalfa (0.07, 0.95, 1.55, 3.26 mg Se/kg dry matter for Se application rates of 0, 22.5, 45.0, or 89.9 g Se/ha, respectively). Feeding Se-fertilized alfalfa hay during the 7-wk preconditioning period increased WB-Se concentrations (P[subscript Linear] < 0.001) and body weights (P[subscript Linear] = 0.002) depending upon the Se-application rate. Based upon our results we suggest that soil-Se fertilization is a potential management tool to improve Se-status and performance in weaned calves in areas with low soil-Se concentrations.
License
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Hall JA, Bobe G, Hunter JK, Vorachek WR, Stewart WC, Vanegas JA, et al. (2013) Effect of Feeding Selenium-Fertilized Alfalfa Hay on Performance of Weaned Beef Calves. PLoS ONE 8(3): e58188. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058188
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 8
Journal Issue/Number
  • 3
Academic Affiliation
Rights Statement
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • Funded in part by Animal Health and Disease Project Formula Funds, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-4802, United States of America (JAH, Principal Investigator). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding received for this study.
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items