Growth performance of newborn dairy calves fed a milk replacer containing 24% crude protein and 20% fat fed at different feeding rates

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the administration of sodium humate (NaH) on the growth performance, diarrhea incidence, and fecal microflora of pre-weaned Holstein calves. In a 53-day experiment, forty healthy newborn female calves were randomly allocated to the following four treatment groups: (1) control (basal diet); (2) 1-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 1 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); (3) 3-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 3 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); and (4) 5-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 5 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily). NaH was mixed with milk (d 2–20) or milk replacer (d 21–53). Calves in the 5-gram NaH group had a higher ADG during d 1 to 21 and d 21 to 53 than the other groups did (p < 0.05). Fecal scores and diarrheal incidence were significantly lower in the 3-gram and 5-gram NaH groups than the 1-gram NaH and control groups during d 1 to 20 (p < 0.05). The serum IgA, IgG and IL-4 concentrations, and T-SOD and T-AOC activities were higher, and the serum IL-6, TNF-α, D-lactic acid, and MDA concentrations were lower in the 5-gram NaH group than the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, NaH supplementation increased the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus but decreased the abundance of Escherichia coli in feces (p < 0.05). These encouraging findings indicated that supplementation with 5 g of NaH effectively improved the immune status, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal beneficial bacteria, and further improved the growth performance and reduced the diarrhea incidence of the pre-weaned dairy calves.

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Supplementation of lysolecithin in milk replacer for Holstein dairy calves: Effects on growth performance, health, and metabolites

Journal of Dairy Science ◽

10.3168/jds.2020-19406 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M.E. Reis ◽

A.F. Toledo ◽

A.P. da Silva ◽

M. Poczynek ◽

E.A. Fioruci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer

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Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

10.21203/rs.3.rs-25876/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wenhui Liu ◽

A La Teng Zhu La ◽

Alexander Evans ◽

Shengtao Gao ◽

Zhongtang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Sodium Butyrate ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Dose Effect ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Control Group ◽

Antioxidant Function

Abstract Background: There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in liquid feeds (milk, milk replacer, and the mixture of both) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old; 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group) using the RAND analysis method in Excel. The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g per day of SB mixed into liquid feeds offered. The calves were initially fed milk only (days 2 to 20), a mixture of milk and milk replacer (days 21 to 23), and then milk replacer only (days 24 to 60). Results: The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group，and the average body gain had a tendency to increase linearly with increasing SB supplementation with a quadratic dose effect. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. Serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased linearly with the increased SB supplementation, and the serum concentration of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased as the SB supplementation amount increased. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M were not affected by the SB supplementation during the whole experimental period. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant ability in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g per day as the optimal level of SB supplementation mixed into liquid feeds (milk or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning.

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Nutrition at Early Stages of Life Determines the Future Growth and Reproductive Performance of Dairy Calves

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-an336-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Philipe Moriel ◽

Luiz Ferraretto

Keyword(s):

Mammary Gland ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Milk Production ◽

Reproductive Performance ◽

Nutritional Composition ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Future Performance ◽

The Future ◽

Future Growth

Nutrition prior to weaning (1 to 45 to 60 days of age) may determine the future performance of dairy calves. Good quality colostrum management is required to maximize health, but also impacts the growth and reproductive performance of calves. Providing an intensive nutritional method by increasing the amount and nutritional composition of milk replacer and calf starter provided from birth to weaning, enhances pre-weaning growth performance, anticipates puberty achievement and increase future milk production, without impairing mammary gland growth.

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