Two experiments to evaluate daily weight gain (Experiment 1) and ruminal fermentation parameters (Experiment 2) were carried out. Nelore and Charolais crossbreed steers grazing on cool-season pasture during four hours daily or during only two hours daily but supplemented (1% of live weight) with sorghum whole plant silage, wet grain silage or dry grain were used. Animals fed only with pasture obtained the highest and, those supplemented with whole plant silage, the lowest daily weight gain (P<0.05). Wet or dry grain supplemented steers obtained intermediary daily weight gain. Ruminal concentrations of amino acids and peptides were not affected (P>0.05) by supplementation. Ammonia and sugar concentrations were higher by animals fed only with pasture or supplemented with sorghum wet grain silage and lower by those supplemented with whole plant silage or dry grain (P<0.05). Ruminal pH values were lower by animals supplemented with sorghum wet grain silage (P<0.05). Supplements did not improve weight gain of steers grazing cool-season pasture but ruminal fermentation varied through a day and was different among supplements. Results also indicate that, besides supplement type, synchrony between grazing and supplementation schedule may represent a conditioning factor to improve feed efficiency use by animals.
oat; ryegrass; beef cattle; sorghum grain; sorghum silage; supplementation
