The objective of the experiment was to test whether maintenance energy
requirements of non-lactating, non-pregnant beef cows increased with
body fatness. Twelve Charolais cows were initially fed to attain eithe
r lean or fat body condition. Subsequently, over a period of 66 days f
ood allowances were regularly adjusted for zero live-weight change. Fo
r the following 76 days, lean and fat cows received either 400 or 553
kJ metabolizable energy (ME) per kg initial live weight0.75 per day, r
espectively. Fat cows maintained their body weight and composition whe
reas lean cows lost 296 g body weight, 221 g lipid and 65 g protein da
ily. Calculated maintenance energy requirements averaged 516 and 536 k
J ME per kg live weight0.75 per day for lean and fat cows respectively
but were not significantly affected by body fatness. Diet dry matter,
organic matter, crude protein and energy apparent digestibilities but
not acid-detergent fibre digestibility were significantly higher in f
at animals.