The objective ofthis study was to evaluate the effect of carbohydrate sources (corn, soybeanhulls or wheat bran) in the diet on performance of feedlot steers in the finishingphase. Twenty-four Charolais × Nellore crossbred steers, aged 22 monthsand initial weight of 335.0±10.9 kg were used in the experiment. Dietscontained 40% sorghum silage and 60% concentrate. The intakes of dry matter(DM; 10.68, 10.16 and 10.34 kg/day) and crude protein (1.66, 1.70 and 1.72 kg/day)were not affected by diets with corn, soybean hulls or wheat bran, respectively.The intakes of neutral and acid detergent fiber were higher for soybean hulls,but the diet containing corn provided higher intake of non-fibrous carbohydrates,total digestible nutrients and digestible energy. Weight gain was higher andbetter feed conversion for animals fed corn (1.57 kg/day, 6.85 kg DM/kg gain)or soybean hulls (1.58 kg/day and 6.61 kg DM/kg gain) compared with steers receivingwheat bran (1.29 kg/day and 8.14 kg DM/kg gain) in the diet. There was no significanteffect of carbohydrate sources on the final body score (3.78 points), energyconversion (28.25 Mcal digestible energy/kg gain), hot carcass yield (57.63kg/100 kg BW) and fat thickness (3.1 mm). From an economic point of view, soybeanhulls can be an alternative source of carbohydrate to corn in diets of finishingsteers with 60% concentrate.
