Effects of feeding tallow on performance and carcass quality of dairy calves

Abstract

Sixteen entire male Australian Illawarra Shorthorn calves in four groups each of four animals were used to study the effects of different milk diets on growth and carcass quality. The growth rates of calves fed wholemilk were significantly faster than those of calves fed skim-milk. Growth rates of groups fed skim-milk and tallow compared favourably with those of the wholemilk group and were higher than the skim-milk group though not significantly so.
Energy intake and dressing-out percentage of all other groups were significantly higher than in the skim-milk group. This group ate much more hay and grain than others. The group fed skim-milk plus 2% tallow were most efficient in converting feed energy to liveweight gain. The carcasses of calves fed tallow were superior to those fed wholemilk and skim-milk.