Feeding Whole or Rolled Corn with Pelleted Supplement to Holstein Steers from Weaning to 190 Kilograms

Performances of two groups of 36 weanling 39-d-old Holstein steer calves (50 kg BW) were evaluated when fed either whole or rolled corn at a constant 3:1 ratio with a pelleted 29% CP supplement for 127 d. Steers were fed diets containing either rolled or whole corn for the entire feeding period or a diet based on rolled corn fed for 56 d replaced by whole corn for the remaining 71 d. Average daily gain and feed:gain ratio for the first 56 d were .87, 2.68; .81, 2.69; and .86 kg, 2.72 for calves assigned to the whole, rolled, and rolled-whole diets, respectively. From d 57 to 127, calves fed the whole corn gained 7.2% faster than those fed the rolled corn. Average DMI, average daily gain, and feed:gain ratio for the 127-d study were 3.41, 1.12, 3.08; 3.27, 1.05, 3.11; and 3.45 kg, 1.10 kg, 3.14 (wt/wt) for calves fed the whole, rolled, and rolled-whole diets, respectively, Whole corn and pelleted supplement promoted good calf performance during the growing period to 191 kg BW, which precluded the need for processing the grain.