Compensatory growth following metabolizable protein or energy restrictions in beef steers

One hundred sixty crossbred steers were used to compare the effects of metabolizable protein and energy restrictions on subsequent compensatory growth. Diets were formulated to impose severe or mild growth restrictions for periods of 77 to 154 d. Steers were realimented on a high-concentrate diet and fed to achieve approximately 1 cm s.c. fat thickness. Finishing performance and carcass characteristics were evaluated relative to unrestricted control animals. All restricted animals, with the exception of those on the mild, brief energy restriction, exhibited compensatory growth relative to controls. A single direct comparison of energy and protein restriction treatments indicated that finishing performance during realimentation was similar for these two groups. Evaluation of the relative effects of protein and energy restriction by multiple linear regression indicated that compensatory growth was influenced by differences in duration or severity of nutrient deprivation to a greater extent for energy-restricted than for protein-restricted steers. Linear contrasts and regression estimates indicated that compensatory growth was influenced more by differences in severity of restriction than by duration of the restriction period.