The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of adding whole cottonseed to the diet of feedlot cattle over the performance and carcass traits. Thirty six Nellore bullocks were used, with an average age of 20 months and average initial weight of 333.5kg. The animals were raised on feedlot and fed diets with the following content of whole cottonseed: 0; 14.35%; 27.51%; or 34.09% on a dry matter basis. The daily weight gain, final weight and dry matter intake decreased linearly as the proportion of cottonseed increased. No effect of cottonseed on total weight gain adjusted for intake was observed. Carcass and ribeye weights decreased linearly as cottonseed content increased. No effect of cottonseed content was observed for ribeye area. In contrast, back fat and rump fat thickness decreased as cottonseed content increased. A correlation of .62 was observed between back fat and rump fat. Adding whole cottonseed to beef cattle diets did not prove advantageous because it reduced animal performance and carcass fat deposition.
steer; ribeye area; intake; weight gain; fat
