Effects of Silage Type and Feeding Intensity on Carcass Traits and Meat Quality of Finishing Holstein–Friesian Bulls

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In many countries, dairy bulls in beef production are used. The main flaw in their rearing is the difficulty in obtaining the optimal intramuscular fat content, affecting the quality properties consumers appreciate. In the present study, a 4-month finishing phase was applied to improve the meat quality of Holstein–Friesian bulls. Two levels of energy concentration in the feed portion and two types of silages were used. The silage type did not affect the carcass or meat quality, whereas the concentration of energy did. The intensive feeding beneficially affected performance, carcass value and the quality of Holstein–Friesian bulls’ meat. ABSTRACT: The study aimed at evaluating the influence of silage type (grass silage—GS, and maize silage—MS) and energy level in the feed portion on animals’ performance, carcass value and the quality of Holstein–Friesian bull meat. The animals were reared using intensive (I) feeding, 1.02 feed units for meat production (UFV)/kg dry matter (DM), and semi-intensive (SI) feeding, 0.94 UFV/kg DM. Thirty-two HF bulls with an average live weight of 530 kg were assigned to four feeding groups. The proportions (g/kg DM) of feed in the diets were as follows: group GS-I, GS 500, concentrate 500; group GS-SI, GS 700, concentrate 300; group MS-I, MS 500, concentrate 500; and group MS-SI, MS 700, concentrate 300. After 4 months of the finishing phase, bulls were slaughtered and samples of the longissimus lumborum muscle were collected. The silage type did not affect performance, carcass value or meat quality. However, in the intensive feeding, a 33% increase (p < 0.01) in daily weight gain and a reduction in the feed conversion ratio compared to semi-intensive feeding were noted. The carcasses of bulls fed intensively received higher scores for conformation and fatness than the carcasses of bulls fed semi-intensively. The meat of I group bulls had a higher intramuscular fat content and received higher juiciness, tenderness, taste and overall acceptability scores.