The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of energy supplementation on the performance of finishing cull cows under temporary grazing on triticale plus ryegrass. The energy supplement was ground sorghum in the levels of 0, .3, .6 and .9% of the live weight. Forty Charolais cull cows were divided in age classes and randomly distributed on the supplementation levels. No interaction was observed between age of the cow and supplementation level. The increase of supplementation level did not affect the average daily weight gain (ADG), which was 1.483, 1.437, 1.476 and 1.510 kg for the levels from 0 to .9%, respectively. The results showed that the pasture supplied the nutrients for the animals express the maximum potential for weight gain. The final body condition linearly increased as the supplementation level increased. The ADG was higher for the four year old cows (1.608 kg), linearly declining with the increase of age, reaching 1.333 kg for the cows above nine years old. Body condition showed a quadratic relation with age, improving up to seven/eight years and declining afterward.
body condition; Charolais; ryegrass; triticale; weight gain
