Effects of different dietary fat levels and sources on diet digestibility, fattening performance and meat quality of Holstein young bulls when substituted for dietary barley grain

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of substituting dietary barley grain by different sources and levels of fat on performance and meat quality of Holstein young bulls. Twenty-eight Holstein male calves, 274 ± 32 kg initial body weight, were used in a completely randomised design with a 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangement for 100 d (with 10 d of adaptation). Seven animals were randomly allocated per treatment. Four dietary treatments were tested, which included: (1) diet supplemented with saturated fat (Energizer® RP10) at low level (diet with high barley and starch content), (2) diet supplemented with saturated fat at high level (diet with low barley and starch content), (3) diet supplemented with unsaturated fat (Persiafat) at low level (diet with high barley an