One 28-day receiving experiment was
conducted using 625 exotic × British cross
heifers to evaluate growth performance and
morbidity on receiving diets that contained
either alfalfa hay or a pellet composed of
65% cottonseed hulls and 35% cottonseed
meal as the roughage source. Heifers fed the
cotton byproduct pellet consumed more feed
(P<0.01) but tended to be less efficient than
those fed alfalfa hay. Daily gain was comparable
between diets (P>0.05), and the percentages
of heifers diagnosed, treated, or
retreated for respiratory disease were similar.