Seasonal relationship between liver abscesses and feeding behavior in crossbred beef cattle

This retrospective study evaluated how feeding behavior during the last 60 to 90 days on feed related to liver abscess prevalence in crossbred beef steers finished in summer or fall. Liver abscesses were scored at slaughter as a binary trait with 10.8% prevalence, and individual feed intake data were collected from 1,114 steers using an automated feeding system. Feeding behavior traits included daily dry matter intake, eating time, meal frequency, meal size, meal length, and variability measures. Meals were defined by grouping all feeding events that occurred within 49 min of each other into a single meal. Generalized linear mixed models assessed associations between liver abscess presence and feeding behavior; accounting for finishing season, beef breed type, heterosis, slaughter weight, slaughter age, and contemporary group. Across seasons, steers with less average daily gain were more likely to have liver abscesses (P = 0.01). Slow-gaining steers may benefit from earlier slaughter to reduce feed costs and days on feed, which could also reduce liver abscess risk. Dry matter intake and intake variability were not associated with abscess prevalence. Several feeding behaviors differed by season. In summer, steers with more consistent eating time tended to have greater liver abscess prevalence (P = 0.06), but these differences were more a function of mean differences rather than variability. In fall, steers with more frequent meals (P = 0.02), smaller meal sizes (P = 0.08), or greater day-to-day changes in eating time (P = 0.04) or meal frequency (P = 0.05) had increased liver abscess risk. Although managing cattle for more, smaller meals is a strategy for stable rumen conditions, these steers were self-selecting into these behaviors, which could be a function of underlying physiology. Maintaining more consistency in eating time and meal frequency may reduce liver abscess risk in the fall, but potential management strategies to promote these behaviors were unclear. This study provided initial evidence that late-finishing growth performance and fall feeding behavior patterns were associated with liver abscess risk in crossbred beef steers. Identifying slow-gaining cattle for early marketing or targeted nutritional strategies may help reduce economic losses and improve feedlot management.