Impact of forage-free diet with cottonseed cake and of feeding frequency using an automated system on productivity and profitability in feedlot-finished cattle

We hypothesized that a forage-free diet, with cottonseed cake as the fiber source and administered six times daily using an automated system by a feeder robot, could optimize the productive and economic performance of feedlot-finished cattle. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of fiber source and feeding frequency on the productive and economic performance of beef cattle finished in a feedlot. Twenty-four uncastrated, 24-month-old Nellore young bulls, averaging 462 ± 23.44 kg in initial live weight were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial scheme incorporating two fiber sources (corn silage or cottonseed cake) and two feeding frequencies (twice or six times per day) with six replicates of each. Replacing silage with cottonseed cake did not affect productive performance (P > 0.05). However, it resulted in lower feed costs (P = 0.003) and a higher net margin per animal (P = 0.02). Twice-daily automated feeding increased nutrient intake (P < 0.05) and showed a trend toward higher average daily gain (P = 0.06). Rumination time was longer with a forage-based diet (P < 0.05), whereas rumination efficiency was higher with a forage-free diet (P = 0.02). Cottonseed cake is a viable alternative to forage-free diets in feedlots. However, increasing feeding frequency did not provide additional benefits.