Clinical trial on the effects of a free-access acidified milk replacer feeding program on the health and growth of dairy replacement heifers and veal calves

Todd, C.G.; Leslie, K.E.; Millman, Suzanne T.; Bielmann, Vivianne; Anderson, Neil G.; Sargeant, Jan M.; DeVries, T.J.

doi:10.3168/jds.2016-11401

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Source of the calves had an influence on the growth of calves. Colostrum management and plane of nutrition are critical components of early life management on source dairy farms that influence the health and productivity of calves (Faber et al, 2005;Windeyer et al, 2014;Todd et al, 2017). As the management of these factors vary depending on the source dairy farm of origin (Renaud et al, 2017), this could explain some of the variation present with regard to the different sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of health status evaluated at arrival on growth in milk-fed veal calves: A prospective single cohort study

Renaud

Overton

Kelton

et al. 2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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The objective of this prospective single cohort study was to determine the effect of health status at arrival on growth in milk-fed veal calves. Upon arrival at the veal facility, calves were evaluated using a standardized health scoring system and weighed, and the supplier of the calf was recorded. The calves were followed until slaughter, when the hot carcass weight (HCW) was reported. To calculate average daily gain (ADG), the HCW was transformed into an estimated live weight, weight at arrival was subtracted, and this value was divided by the number of days on feed. A mixed linear regression model was created to evaluate the association of health status on arrival with the ADG throughout the production period. A total of 4,825 calves were evaluated at arrival; however, due to inconsistent HCW data from one slaughter plant, and 357 calves dying during the production period, 2,283 calves were used for analysis. In the final model, 7 variables were significantly associated with ADG. Housing location within the farm, method of calf procurement (drover or auction-derived calves versus direct delivery from local farms) and having a higher body weight at arrival were associated with a higher ADG. The season of arrival (summer or fall compared with winter) and being dehydrated at arrival were associated with a lower ADG. Days on feed was also significant in the multivariable model and had a quadratic relationship with ADG. The associations identified suggest that there may be value in scoring dehydration and body weight at arrival to a veal facility.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of health status evaluated at arrival on growth in milk-fed veal calves: A prospective single cohort study

Renaud

Overton

Kelton

et al. 2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…Improved energy status protects against disease and supports immune function (Todd et al, 2017). It has been reported that 17% of surveyed Canadian dairy source farms providing inferior nutrition to male calves compared with female calves (Renaud et al, 2017), and this, combined with the energy expenditure and mobilization occurring during calf transport (Knowles et al, 1999), means that many male calves enter the veal industry with suboptimal energy status and low body fat cover (Wilson et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical and metabolic indicators associated with early mortality at a milk-fed veal facility: A prospective case-control study

Renaud

Duffield

LeBlanc

et al. 2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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Antimicrobial use and resistance, in combination with high levels of mortality, are important challenges facing the veal industry. To improve both the economic sustainability of the industry and animal welfare, measures need to be taken to explore and address reasons for these challenges. Health status at arrival may be an important predictor of calf mortality because substantial mortality occurs early in the growing period on veal operations. The objective of this observational case-control study was to identify clinically measurable variables and metabolic indicators associated with mortality in the first 21 d following arrival at a veal facility. Calves were evaluated using a standardized health scoring system, blood was collected, calves were weighed, and the supplier of the calf was recorded at arrival. The calves were followed until death or 21 d after arrival. Cases were defined as calves that died ≤21 d following arrival. Two controls for every case were randomly selected from calves that survived >21 d, arrived on the same day, and were housed in the same barn as cases. Stored serum harvested at arrival from cases and controls was submitted for measurement of concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, cholesterol, urea, haptoglobin, and immunoglobulin G. A conditional logistic regression model was built to evaluate factors associated with mortality ≤21 d following arrival. A total of 4,825 calves were evaluated from November 2015 to September 2016. The mortality risk in the first 21 d was 2.8%, giving 135 cases, which were compared with 270 controls. Six variables were significant in the final multivariable model. Calves with a slightly enlarged navel with slight pain or moisture, and those with severe dehydration had increased odds of mortality ≤21 d following arrival. Drover-derived calves, calves that weighed more, and calves that had higher concentration of immunoglobulin G or cholesterol at arrival were less likely to die. The results demonstrate that calves at elevated risk for early mortality can be identified at arrival using both health and hematological factors. Early recognition of high-risk calves may allow for an intervention that could result in improvement in survival rates; however, prevention of these abnormalities before arrival at veal facilities needs to be further explored.

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“…Some studies showed that the feed intake and average daily gain (ADG) of calves fed acidified MR was not different from that of calves fed normal MR when there was no difference in intake and milk composition [4][5][6]. Woodford [7] reported that feeding calves acidified MR ad libitum did not improve the digestion and absorption of nutrients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of acidified milk feeding on the intake, average daily gain and fecal microbiological diversity of Holsten dairy calves

Chen

Gao

Yin

et al. 2020

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci

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Objective: To evaluate the effect of feeding acidified milk on the growth and fecal microbial diversity of dairy calves.Methods: Twenty healthy 3-day-old female Holstein calves with similar body weights were selected and randomly divided into two groups. One group was fed pasteurized milk (PM, Control), while the other was fed acidified milk (AM) ad libitum until weaned (day 60). The experiment lasted until day 180.Results: There was no difference in the nutritional components between PM and AM. The numbers of Escherichia coli and total bacteria in AM were lower than in PM. At 31 to 40 and 41 to 50 days of age, the milk intake of calves fed AM was higher than that of calves fed PM (p<0.05), and the solid feed intake of calves fed AM was higher than that of calves fed PM at 61 to 90 days (p<0.05). The average daily gain of calves fed AM was also higher than that of calves fed PM at 31 to 60, 61 to 180, and 7 to 180 days (p<0.05). The calves fed AM tended to have a lower diarrhea rate than those fed PM (p = 0.059). Bacteroides had the highest abundance in the feces of calves fed AM on day 50, while Ruminococcaceae_UCG_005 had the highest abundance in the feces of calves fed AM on day 90 and calves fed PM on days 50 and 90. At the taxonomic level, the linear discriminant analysis scores of 27 microorganisms in the feces of calves fed AM and PM on days 50 and 90 were higher than 4.0.Conclusion: Feeding AM increased calf average daily gain and affected fecal bacterial diversity.

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Clinical trial on the effects of a free-access acidified milk replacer feeding program on the health and growth of dairy replacement heifers and veal calves

Cited by 33 publications

References 38 publications

Effect of health status evaluated at arrival on growth in milk-fed veal calves: A prospective single cohort study

Effect of health status evaluated at arrival on growth in milk-fed veal calves: A prospective single cohort study

Clinical and metabolic indicators associated with early mortality at a milk-fed veal facility: A prospective case-control study

Effect of acidified milk feeding on the intake, average daily gain and fecal microbiological diversity of Holsten dairy calves

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