Tda. Forbes et al., COMPARISONS AMONG TULI-SIRED, BRAHMAN-SIRED, AND ANGUS-SIRED HEIFERS - INTAKE, DIGESTA KINETICS, AND GRAZING BEHAVIOR, Journal of animal science, 76(1), 1998, pp. 220-227
As part of an evaluation of Tuli crossbred cattle, forage intake, dige
sta kinetics, and grazing behavior were estimated in two Texas environ
ments. In humid east Texas, Tuli x Brahman heifers were compared with
purebred Angus and Brahman and Angus x Brahman heifers. Fecal output,
forage intake, compartmental mass, and compartmental residence time di
d not differ among breeds. Angus and Brahman heifers had different (P
< .02) gastrointestinal residence times (51.1 +/- 1.56 vs 43.1 +/- 1.5
6 h, respectively), but values for the purebreds did not differ from t
hose for Tuli x Brahman or Angus x Brahman heifers. Angus heifers had
shorter (P < .05) 24-h grazing times (398 +/- 15.4 min/d) and fewer (P
< .05) grazing periods (7 +/- .4) than Tuli x Brahman (552 +/- 16.8 m
in/d and 10 +/- .4), Angus x Brahman (507 +/- 18.4 min/d and 9 +/- .5)
, and Brahman (560 +/- 16.8 min/d and 9 +/- .4, respectively) heifers.
In semiarid southwest Texas, Tuli x Angus heifers were compared with
purebred Angus and Brahman and Brahman x Angus heifers. Fecal output a
nd forage intake were similar in Tuli x Angus and Brahman x Angus heif
ers (14.2 +/- .69 and 14.9 +/- .91 g fecal DM/[d.kg BW] and 24.5 +/- 1
.33 and 25.6 +/- 1.75 g/d of forage DMI, respectively) but higher (P <
.05) than those of purebred Brahman heifers (12.2 +/- .64 and 20.3 +/
- 1.23 g/[d.kg BW] of fecal DM and forage DMI, respectively). Grazing
times did not differ among breeds. We conclude that Tuli-sired heifers
are likely to be as productive as Brahman crossbred heifers in Texas,
based on the similarities in intake, digesta dynamics, and grazing be
havior.