Effect of Feeding Wet Brewers Grains to Beef Heifers on Wintering Performance, Serum Selenium and Reproductive Performance

Wet brewers grains (WBG) were evaluated as a feed source for growing Angus heifers (201 kg, 313 d of age) during a 112-d wintering trial. Effects on growth, feed efficiency, serum Se and first breeding performance were examined. Three replications of four heifers each were fed the following diets: (1) corn silage with no protein supplement (CSNS); (2) corn silage plus 33.8% of the diet dry matter (DM) from WBG (CSWBG), and (3) WBG, corn and fescue hay at 62.2, 10.8 and 26.1% of diet DM, respectively (WBGCH). Average daily gains for heifers fed CSNS, CSWBG and WBGCH were .50, .73 and .56 kg/head (P less than .05), and DM:gain ratios were 9.52, 6.34 and 6.13 (P less than .05), respectively. Serum Se concentrations were higher (P less than .01) in heifers fed diets containing WBG than in heifers fed CSNS. Serum Se concentrations were also influenced by sampling time (P less than .01) and the diet x sampling time interaction (P less than .05). At the end of the trial, serum Se concentrations were .050, .085 and .105 ppm (P less than .01), respectively, for heifers on the three dietary treatments. Following a 66-d breeding period, 12 of 12 heifers fed CSNS and WBGCH diets and 10 of 12 heifers fed CSWBG were diagnosed pregnant and subsequently calved.