One misconception that many feeders have is that if
they limit feed offered to a pen of cattle, they can prevent
the up and down swings in feed intake and thus
minimize acidosis. The feed records will show that intake
variation is small; however, this is an artificial situation
and does not reflect true feed intakes to two reasons.
Firstly, since bunk space is limited in most feedlots, the
dominant cattle will consume all the feed they want. The
more timid cattle will be limit-fed. Thus, limiting feed
will only limit-feed for the timid cattle and not all the
cattle. Secondly, if feed intake is limited for all cattle, the
cattle will be hungry. Rate of feed consumption will be
increased at the next feeding, and this change may alter
their intake pattern and create additional acidosis resulting
in the roller coaster intake patterns previously
described. Thus, it is best not to restrict feed intake of
finishing cattle in order to prevent acidosis.