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Effects of total mixed ration silage on fattening performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Japanese Black steers fattened until 26 months of age

The study investigated the effects of feeding total mixed ration (TMR) silage during whole shortened fattening period on fattening performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Japanese Black steers. Twelve Japanese Black steers (8 ± 0.4 months of age, 277 ± 23 kg body weight) were divided into two groups, one fed with separate ingredients (SI) and the other fed with TMR silage (TMR), and were fattened until 26 months of age. Dietary treatment did not affect the dry matter intake, however, concentrate intake of the TMR group was higher than that of the SI group (P ＜ 0.05). Final body weight and daily gain were not affected by dietary treatment, whereas subcutaneous fat of the carcass were thicker in the TMR group than in the SI group (P ＜ 0.05). In early fattening period, steers in the SI group had longer time spent eating after feeding diets and higher ratio of dry matter intake after feeding to daily dry matter intake compared to steers in the TMR group. Number of steers receiving veterinary treatment due to digestive diseases and hepatic dysfunction was lower in the TMR group. These results suggest that TMR silage feeding enables more stable management of fattening Japanese Black steer until 26 months of age by promoting even diurnal eating pattern and reducing diseases.