Effects of maize silage withdrawal from finishing ration on weight gain, carcass yield and beef quality of Holstein Friesian × Belgian Blue crossbred bulls

This study was practical work in a commercial beef cattle enterprise to offer beef producers different options in a total mixed ration (TMR) design. This study was conducted to determine the effects of withdrawing maize silage from TMR during the finishing period on weight gain, carcass yield and beef quality of meat in beef cattle. Fifty-two Holstein Friesian x Belgian Blue crossbred bulls were used in this study for 126 days. These bulls were divided into four feeding methods described as (i) no maize silage in TMR (C1), (ii) maize silage was withdrawn from TMR two months before slaughter (S1), (iii) maize silage was withdrawn from TMR one month before slaughter (S2), and (iv) maize silage was included in TMR until slaughter (C2). Results showed that the fattening performance of experimental bulls was not affected by treatments, except some colour parameters of the muscle. Also, its chemical composition, pH, water holding capacity, drip loss, thawing loss, cooking loss, shear force, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and radical scavenging activity were not affected by treatments. To conclude, the withdrawal of maize silage from TMR did not affect fattening performance and meat quality, suggesting that there is no need to withdraw maize silage from TMR during the finishing period of fattening in beef cattle.