Influence of dietary neutral detergent fiber on feed intake and nutrient digestibility of crossbred Black Angus cattle

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate different neutral detergent fiber (NDF) levels affected on the feed intake and nutrient digestibility of crossbred beef cattle. Four male F 1 (Black Angus x Zebu cross) cattle at 20.5±1.21 (Mean±SD) months of age with average body weight of 299±12.1 kg were used in a 4x4 Latin square design (fourteen days per each period). The treatments were 47% (NDF47), 51% (NDF51), 55% (NDF55), and 59% (NDF59) NDF in diets. The results showed that the dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), and crude protein (CP) intake were not different (P>0.05) among treatments. However, both NDF and acid detergent fiber (ADF) consumption were lower for NDF 47 than NDF59 treatments (P<0.05), while metabolizable energy was highest for NDF47 compare with NDF59 treatment (P<0.05). The DM digestibility was higher (P<0.05) for the NDF47 (65.3%) compared with NDF59 (57.5%), while NDF47 was similar (P>0.05) to NDF51 (62.4%), and NDF55 (59.4%) treatments. The data for CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility were similar (P>0.05) among treatments. However, there was tended to be lower in NDF59 than NDF47 treatments. The daily weight gain was 866, 821, 786, and 686 g/animal/day for treatments of NDF47, NDF51, NDF55, and NDF59, respectively. While, feed conversion ratio was lower for NDF47 and higher for NDF59 treatments (P>0.05). The conclusion in the present study was 55% NDF in diet could be properly recommended for farmers’ practice in terms of feed utilization.