Cattle

Dried beet pulp and molassed beet pulp are fed mostly to dairy cattle, for which they are very suitable. Dried beet pulp can be up to 30% of the diet on a DM basis

Up to 3.5 kg a day of dried beet pulp can be given to milking animals, and fattening cattle can make good use of up to 5.5 kg of dried pulp daily. Dried beet pulp may be fed in moderate amounts to calves from the age of about four months, a common daily allowance being 0.5 kg per head. Consistently with what is written above, beet pulp is one of the ingredients which can be used to increase the dietary fibre without decreasing the energy density content in dairy cows

Dairy cows

Many studies have evaluated the effects of sugar beet pulp as a feedstuff for dairy cows. Most results remained inconclusive and the great variation in sugar beet pulp inclusion rates and diet compositions makes it difficult to compare these studies to a greater extent. A recent meta-analysis assessed the effect of feeding beet pulp to dairy cows. It reported that sugar beet pulp had contradictory effect on DM intake, sometimes having no effects, sometines increasing or decreasing  Other studies found that the effect of sugar beet pulp on DMI depended on its inclusion rate

Inclusion levels of sugar beet pulp reported in meta-analysis could be grouped in three levels : low (1-100 g/kg DM), medium (101-200 g /kg DM) and high (over 201 g/kg DM). Increasing levels of sugar beet pulp did not change milk yield but increased the fat-corrected milk yield (4% FCM), the maximum level of fat corrected milk obtained being at medium level of sugar beet pulp . Milk fat yield and milk fat percentage were also shown to increase and the maximum increase was also at medium sugar beet pulp level (101-200 g/kg DM).  Milk protein and milk lactose were not affected by sugar beet pulp at any level.

An important feature pointed out by the meta-analysis was that sugar beet pulp had generally positive effects of DM intake for cows with relatively low DM intake and had negative effect on cows with high intake level

In early studies, in the 1930’s in the USA, sugar beet pulp had been reported to be responsible for milk fishy taint and for this reason had been suggested to be limited to 4.1 kg /d (basis unknown), however this problem was not observed at higher levels (up to 50% dietary level DM basis ) reported later

Beef cattle

Dried molassed beet pulp could be included in steers (368 kg) rations at levels ranging from 11 to 33% of dietary DM in order to gradually replace barley grain in low forage based diet.It was shown that dried sugar beet pulp had beneficial effect on chewing behaviour and  on ruminal ammonia concentration (decreased). Health parameters of steers were not altered by the use of sugar beet pulp as a barley replacer
It was possible to finish castrated Tudanca bulls fed on pasture with a supplement of 1,6 kg barley and 1 kg of dehydrated sugar beetpulp  Crossbred Aberdeen Angus x Nordic Red bulls fed on a silage (timothy grass or red clover) basal diet and receiving 30% molassed beet pulp (DM basis) as a part of the concentrate had higher DM intake (+5%) and higher carcass weight (+3%). Sugar beet pulp had no effect on their fat score  In Belgium, steers (516 kg) fed either on cereal grains or dried sugar beet pulp had similar DM intake but animals fed on sugar beet pulp had significantly high weight gains (+155 g/head/d in 3 different breeds and showed a trend to improved FCR (Charolais, Blonde d”Aquitaine or Blanc Bleu Belge) (Decruyenaere et al., 2006). 

This kind of results had not been achieved earlier, when crossbred steers fed ad libitum on a low protein big bale silage (made of perennial ryegrass, timothy and white clover) were supplemented with  molassed beet pulp alone at 0.66 kg DM/day  It was necessary to add fishmeal as a concentrate (at either 0.12 kg DM/day or 0.23 kg DM/day) in order to increase liveweight gain and obtain moderate growth performance of 0.6 kg/day  It was reported that molassed sugar beet pulp at high or low level (3 kg/day or 1.5 kg/day) should be added soybean meal for optimal intake and liveweight gain in growing steers

Sheep

Dried sugar beet pulp could be used at high level (up to 93% DM basis) in sheep diet to supplement low quality roughage (wheat straw)

As for large ruminants, the use of sugar beet pulp prevented acidosis in sheep and high inclusion levels increased fibre and NDF digestibilities  In Egypt, adult rams (53 kg) could be fed on dried sugar beet pulp (350 g/day) added or not with molasses (250 g/d), urea (15g/d), or berseem. No significant difference could be found among the different diets but digestibility, feeding value and blood composition were better when sugar beet pulp were added molasses or molasses + urea

In Pakistan, Barki lambs (30 kg BW) received sugar beet pulp in order to replace 25, 50, 75 or 100% maize grain. The highest inclusion rates of sugar beet pulp resulted in higher TDN, digestible energy, metabolizable energy and digestible protein. There was only a slight difference between sheep fed on control (100% maize grain) and sheep fed on the highest levels of sugar beet pulp.It was concluded that sugar beet pulp could completely replace maize grain in growing sheep diet (

Similarly, in India, it was shown that growing lambs could be fed on molassed sugar beet pulp rather than barley without modifying liveweight gain, feed intake or feed conversion ratio or animal health parameters

However, it was shown that 7-8 months-old lambs receiving 470 g/d (as fed) molassed sugar beet pulp in a 50: 50 mixture with rolled barley rather than a 80: 20 mixture had faster growth due to faster digestion, higher DM intake and better feed conversion  later results confirmed the usefulness of keeping at least 25% barley grain in growing lamb diet 

Finishing lambs were fed on 43% sugar beet pulp in order to replace barley in an attempt to prevent accumulation of trans-10-18:1 fatty acid in lamb meat. Sugar beet pulp had no effect on animal growth performance, feed intake, carcass characteristics but it increased redness and yellowness of the meat. Sugar beet pulp could however, not prevent the accumulation of the trans fatty acid

Pigs

Fibrous feeds have been included in post-weaning pig diets to assess their effect on animal performance and health parameters. A mixture of dried sugar beet pulp (75%) and soybean hulls (25%) was included at 8 or 12% in piglets diet. Thanks to its high pectin content, sugar beet pulp had a favourable effect on intestinal microbiota and was very well digested by piglets (

Growing and fattening pigs

Dehydrated sugar beet pulp was fed at 17% to growing and fattening heavy pigs (44-133 kg). In comparison to pressed beet pulp, dehydrated sugar beet pulp yielded better animal performance during the first growth phase. Over the whole experimental period, the diet containing dehydrated pulp had better FCR than the control diet, and carcass and meat quality were not altered by the use of beet pulp

Dehydrated sugar beet pulp has also been used in pig diets in order to reduce N excretion and ammonia emissions. Inclusion levels ranging from 10 to 24% proved to be effective in growing and heavy pigs for N and ammonia reduction

Dehydrated sugar beet pulp was included in heavy pig diets at 24% (DM basis). This inclusion resulted in lower protein digestibility but higher fibre digestibility. Urinary N excretion was reduced but fecal excretion was increased. However, ammonia emission from slurry was significantly lower (-25.3%)  These results are consistent with those observed in growing pigs, in Japan, where the pigs were offered a low CP diet supplemented with amino acids and 23% dehydrated sugar beet pulp. Urinary excretion was reduced, fecal excretion was increased and ammonia emission from the mixture was half that of low CP diet without fibre . At low fibre level (10% dried beet pulp) added to a low CP diet, N excretion was not further reduced but ammmonia and volatile fatty acids were lower in the slurry  The use of dehydrated sugar beet pulp at 16% in growing pigs (85 kg) reduced N and EE digestibilities while increasing fibre digestibility. Other digestion parameters were not affected, metabolizable energy was unchanged but heat production of pigs fed on dehydrated beet pulp was greater. Net energy was thus reduced. Another observtion was the higher emission of CH4.

Sows

Dehydrated molassed sugar beet pulp was fed to sows at up to 40% of the diet. However, it was reported that optimal inclusion level was 20%, yielding better growth rate, feed conversion ratio and profit. Carcass yield was slightly reduced as a result of greater gut-fill, but backfat thickness was also decreased under beet pulp diet. It was also shown that litter birthweight was higher at 20% cited by 

Poultry 

Sugar beet pulp is rich in soluble and insoluble fibre, and has therefore a low nutritive value in poultry. Several studies concluded that the addition of sugar beet pulp in rations decrease digestibility at ileal or fecal level

Some trials have been done to evaluate the interest of sugar beet pulp as a source of fibre in some contexts. However, in this perspective other fibre sources seem to be more favourable, such as oat hulls ( rice hulls (or straw

Broilers

Low levels of sugar beet pulp (2-3%) had no significant effects, or decreased growth performance in broilers .However, in low fibre diets, the addition of sugar beet pulp with energy supplementation improved performance sometimes . At higher inclusion levels (5 to 7.5%), performance was always degraded

Layers

Energy intake and laying performance of layers were decreased by the addition of sugar beet pulp in the diet. Pelleting diets helped to alleviate these negative effects, particularly in warm periods . However, in older studies with lower production levels (70% laying rate), the inclusion of 10% sugar beet pulp did not decrease production but degraded feed conversion, due to a higher feed intake .

In pullets, the use of low levels (2-4%) of sugar beet pulp had negative consequences on the subsequent laying performance of the layers , In the same conditions, similar levels of cereal straw had not such negative consequences.

Quails

The inclusion of sugar beet pulp in laying quail diets had no significant effect on feed intake and laying rate, but a negative effect on body weight, feed efficiency and the hatchability of eggs . Enzyme supplementation was inefficient to alleviate these problems.

Geese

The substitution of 10% (starters) and 20% (growers) geese diets with sugar beet pulp did not affect growth performance, but led to a slight increase in feed intake .In contrast, when diets were iso-energetic, feed intake was slightly decreased, but gizzard weight was increased, which was favourable in a perspective of overfeeding for fatty liver production .

Breeders

Sugar beet pulp was assessed as a means to dilute breeder diets in order to improve welfare by increasing satiety . The use of 15% sugar beet pulp in breeders increased feed intake and did not affect laying performance . However, there was a slight negative effect on hatchability.

Rabbits 

Dried sugar beet pulp is a by-product of the sugar industry long-time used in rabbit feeding, after soaking and incorporation in a mash or incorporated in a complete pelleted diet  In commercial complete rabbit feeds currently used in Europe, the incorporation level varies generally between 8 and 20% (de Blas et al., 2010; . In experimental diets, the incorporation level, around 11-16% on average, could be increased up to 50% without problem . For some short term experiments, such as digestibility studies, beet pulp was used as the only feed without immediate health problem, but at this level, beet pulp failed to support the rabbit maintenance minimum requirements ( In different studies devoted to the possibility of beet pulp utilisation in growing or reproducing rabbits, this raw material was used with success as a source of digestible energy to replace cereals in general or more specifically maize , wheat  or barley Beet pulp was also used as a source of fibre to replace dehydrated alfalfa (

Sugar beet pulp is a potential feed ingredient for rabbits characterized by a relatively low protein content, similar to that of maize. Contrary to the protein of cereals, beet pulp proteins are deficient in sulphur-containing amino acids and relatively rich in lysine: respectively 75% and 125% of growing rabbit requirements (. Beet pulp carbohydrates are mainly the residual cell walls remaining after removing the sucrose of sugar beet root. As for quite all root products or by-products, the lignin level is low allowing a high digestibility of the different types of beet pulp fibre in the rabbit cæcum ( The NDF content represents about 48-50% of DM, but the total dietary fibre (TDF) content is largely higher: 68%, due to the presence of a high proportion of pectin (15-18%) and other soluble and insoluble non-starch polysaccharides  This part of the fibre (TDF minus NDF) is digested very efficiently in the cæcum (80-85%) and absorbed in form of volatile fatty acids, a situation favourable to the rabbit health . However, simultaneously the low digestible fraction of the diet must be sufficient, with a digestible fibre:ADF ratio not greater than 1.3 As a consequence of the high digestibility of beet pulp fibrous content, the digestible energy of this by-product is of the same order than that of cereals. However, as illustrated in the following table, the digestible energy content varies from 9.4 to 14.2 MJ/kg DM between studies, resulting in an average of 12.05 MJ/kg DM. In seven of these studies, protein digestibility was simultaneously determined resulting also in a relatively wide variation from 44 to 74%. The average is 58%, a little lower than that of alfalfa.

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