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| OSU researchers have used self-fed
soybean hull pellets for a growing program for replacement heifers.
Acidosis, bloat, and founder have all been identified as potential risks
associated with feeding soybean hull pellets free choice to growing cattle.
In previous research, they found that the incidence of bloat was significantly
reduced and weight gain increased when cattle receiving free choice soybean
hulls were fed 1.5 pounds per day of long stem prairie hay. However,
this still did not completely alleviate the bloat risk. Therefore
the OSU nutritionists conducted a trial to determine the effects of providing
a monensin-containing mineral supplement to cattle self-fed soybean hulls
and prairie hay.
The incidence of bloat was reduced from 19% of the heifers to 6% showing signs of moderate or severe bloat with the inclusion of monensin in the mineral mix. The heifers that were receiving salt only (in the mineral mix) had an incidence of 7% of the heifers had severe cases of bloat, whereas the heifers with the monensin-containing mineral had no (0%) incidence of severe bloat. They concluded that self-fed soybean hulls can be used as an effective, low labor nutritional program for growing beef cattle. Intake of a small but adequate amount of effective fiber from grass hay is necessary to minimize the risk of bloat and acidosis. Furthermore, a commercial monensin-containing mineral supplement improved animal performance and reduced the incidence of bloat in this experiment. Source: Steele, Lalman and co-workers. 2001 OSU Beef Research Field Day.
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