Impacts of form of salt-limited supplement on supplement intake behavior and performance with yearling heifers grazing dryland pastures

摘要

One of the greatest nutritional challenges that western beef producers face is the need for supplemental inputs, especially in arid and high elevation rangelands where seasonal deficiencies of nutrients are frequent ( ). Producers who are dependent on forage resources as a main source for feed must develop strategies that maximize forage use while minimizing supplemental inputs to reduce costs and maintain acceptable levels of beef cattle production ( ). To offset seasonal deficiencies in nutrients, self-fed salt-limited supplements are used to increase forage intake and improve animal performance ( ; ; ). Self-fed supplements often use salt as a mechanism to limit intake thus reducing the potential of animals over consuming supplements and as a result, substituting or reducing low-quality forage intake. However, studies evaluating the effectiveness of salt as a supplement intake-limiter are minimal and have shown conflicting results.