Effects of replacing fish meal with soy cake in a diet based on urea-treated rice straw on performance of growing Laisind beef cattle

The present study was to test if different ratios of fish meal to soy cake as protein supplements in the diet are not significantly different in effects on feed intakes and performance of growing beef cattle fed urea-treated rice straw (URTRS) as basal diet under local conditions in North Vietnam. Thirty-six male cattle of Laisind (50 % local Yellow cattle and 50 % Sindhi, both Bos indicus) at around 12 months of age with an average live weight of 124?±?12 kg at start were used in six groups of the experiment. Six diets named A, B, C, D, E, and F used in the experiment were similar in crude protein (CP) level, except for diet A with no supplementation, but different in fish meal/soy cake ratio based on CP content as follows: diet A 0/0, diet B 100/0, diet C 75/25, diet D 50/50, diet E 25/75, and diet F 0/100. Following a 4-week adaptation period, a comparison period lasted 24 weeks. The total intakes of dry matter (DM), DM from roughage, metabolizable energy (ME), and CP were 6, 7, 6, and 20 % higher in diets B–F than diet A with P values ≤0.05, 0.05, 0.05, and 0.001, respectively. The average daily gain (ADG) was 50 % higher (P?DM, FCR_ME, and FCR_CP by 30, 20, and 30 %, respectively (all at P?P?