Effect of level of milk replacer fed to Holstein calves on performance during the preweaning period and starter digestibility at weaning

Terré, M.; Devant, M.; Bach, À.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2006.10.001

Cited by 138 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The higher FE in the CMF calves may be attributed to the higher milk intake. Several other researchers have also reported higher FE because of higher milk consumption (Diaz et al, 2001;Blome et al, 2003;Terré et al, 2007). The results of body measurements are in agreement with previous studies on calves weaned at different ages (Galton and Brakel, 1976;Owen and Larson, 1982;Kehoe et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Influence of weaning regimen on intake, growth characteristics and plasma blood metabolites in male buffalo calves

Rashid

Pasha

Jabbar

et al. 2013

Animal

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Experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of weaning age on growth performance, feed intake, feed efficiency (FE) and blood metabolites in Nili-Ravi male buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves. Twenty-four male buffalo calves were assigned to one of the three treatment groups: continuous milk feeding (CMF), limited milk feeding (LMF) and early weaning (EW), and weaned off milk at 12, 10 and 8 weeks of age, respectively. For the first 3 days after birth, calves in all three treatments were fed colostrum, and were then moved to individual milk feeding at 10% of BW for the next 6 weeks. Thereafter, the provision of milk to the CMF group was gradually tapered to zero through week 12, using week 6 intakes as a base. The LMF calves were fed milk at 7.5%, 5.0%, 3.5%, and 1.5% of BW during weeks 7 to 10, respectively. Lastly, calves in the EW group were fed milk at 5.0% and 2.5% of BW at weeks 7 and 8, respectively. Calf starter (CS) feed was also provided ad libitum from weeks 2 to 12 and individual intakes were recorded on a daily basis. Blood samples were taken from weeks 6 to 12, on a weekly basis; whereas, the BW, heart girth, withers height and hip width were measured at the start of experiment and later on a weekly basis. Weight gain, average daily gain, and body measurements were the same across all three groups. Milk intake was lower ( P , 0.05), whereas CS intake was greater (P , 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the other treatment groups. Dry matter intake was greater (P , 0.05) in the EW and LMF calves compared with the CMF calves. The FE was greater ( P , 0.05) in the CMF calves compared with the LMF and EW treatment groups. Blood glucose concentration was similar among the treatments; however, blood urea nitrogen was greater ( P , 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the CMF and LMF groups. Plasma concentration of non-esterified fatty acids was higher (P , 0.05) in the EW calves compared with the CMF calves. In light of these results, it is evident that buffalo calves can be successfully weaned as early as 8 weeks of age without negatively affecting their growth performance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Influence of weaning regimen on intake, growth characteristics and plasma blood metabolites in male buffalo calves

Rashid

Pasha

Jabbar

et al. 2013

Animal

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“…The decrease in ADG around weaning reported in previous studies (Bar-Peled et al, 1997;Jasper and Weary, 2002;Cowles et al, 2006;Terré et al, 2006) in calves fed high volumes of milk was also found in this study, as all calves decreased ADG a week before weaning. This is explained by the decrease in energy and protein intake when milk allowance was reduced.…”

Section: Intake Growth and Efficiencysupporting

confidence: 89%

Performance of Holstein calves having free access to milk and dosed with Megasphaera elsdenii

Muya

Erasmus

Miller

et al. 2017

Sci. agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.)

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Megasphaera elsdenii converts lactate and glucose into butyrate, the main volatile fatty acid responsible of papillae development and may benefit calf performance. Twenty-six Holstein calves (BW = 34.5 ± 1.65 kg) were randomly assigned at birth to a control group (Meg0) and a group that received an oral dose of M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 at 14 d of age (Meg14).Calves received colostrum for the first 3 d followed by free choice access to whole milk until weaning at 56 d. From d 4 onward, starter and water were offered ad libitum. Intakes were measured daily and body weights (BW) weekly. Blood samples were collected on day 7, 21, 28, 42, and 56 for β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) analysis. Performance was measured for an additional 14 d post-weaning. Pre-weaning milk intake was lower (p = 0.010) and starter DMI (dry matter intake) greater (p = 0.001) for Meg14 than Meg0 calves. Total DMI, metabolisable energy (ME) intake and average daily gain (ADG) were similar (p > 0.05) for both groups, but Meg14 calves had greater weaning BW (p = 0.012) and feed efficiency (p < 0.029). The average BHBA between d 21 and 56 was greater for Meg14 (p = 0.03) compared to Meg0 calves. After weaning, Meg14 calves had greater DMI (p = 0.027), ME intake (p = 0.023) and ADG (p = 0.002) and tended to have better feed efficiencies (p = 0.07) than Meg0 calves. Administering M. elsdenii NCIMB 41125 improved starter intake and feed efficiency, which was associated with high blood BHBA.

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“…This aberrantly restricted quantity of MR frequently fed to dairy calves in an artificial rearing system may have negative health implications. Alternatively, feeding high levels of MR increases average daily gain but can reduce concentrate consumption (Jasper and Weary, 2002;Terré et al, 2007) and this can cause lower nutrient digestibility (Terré et al, 2007) and weight loss (Budzynska and Weary, 2008) at weaning, and consequently, may disrupt immune function. However, in our study, while the distribution of haematological variables was affected by breed, no changes were elicited due to plane of nutrition.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of haematological profiles and whole blood relative gene expression levels in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey bull calves undergoing gradual weaning

Johnston

Kenny

Kelly

et al. 2016

animal

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Haematological profiles indicate the health status of an animal and can be used to identify sub-clinical stress responses. The objectives of the study were to examine (i) the effect of breed and plane of nutrition, on haematological profiles of artificially reared Holstein-Friesian and Jersey bull calves in response to gradual weaning, and (ii) the effect of breed on immune response genes in bovine whole blood using real-time quantitative PCR. Holstein-Friesian and Jersey bull calves were group housed indoors and individually fed using an automatic feeder. They were allocated to a high, medium or low plane of nutrition, based on milk replacer (MR) and concentrate. The nutrition treatments were calculated using National Research Council guidelines in order to achieve a high, medium or low growth rate for each respective breed. During the weaning phase MR was gradually reduced over a 14-day (d) period (d −13 to d 0). Calves were blood sampled on d −14, −6, −3, 0, 1, 3, 8 and 14 relative to weaning (d 0) for subsequent haematological analysis. On d −14, 1 and 8, a subset of eight Holstein-Friesian calves randomly selected from the medium nutrition treatment and eight Jersey calves randomly selected from the high nutrition treatment, were blood sampled for gene expression profiling, targeting biomarkers of weaning stress. These two treatment groups were chosen to examine the effect of breed on expression of the genes of interest, as energy intake and animal performance were similar. There was no effect of breed × plane of nutrition interaction nor effect of plane of nutrition on any variable measured ( P > 0.05). Gradual weaning produced differential biological responses in the two breeds evidenced by breed × time interactions for lymphocyte, monocyte and red blood cell number, plasma haemoglobin and haptoglobin concentrations ( P < 0.05). The typical stress response consisting of neutrophilia and lymphopaenia was not observed for any treatment. An immune response to gradual weaning was observed as the relative gene expression level of the pro-apoptotic gene, Fas, increased on d 1 relative to d −14 ( P < 0.05). Relative gene expression levels were greater in Jersey calves compared with Holstein-Friesian for the pro-inflammatory cytokine CXCL8 ( P = 0.05) and the glucocorticoid receptor, GRα ( P < 0.05). The increased levels of these transcripts suggest that Jersey calves may have a more sensitive immune system compared with Holstein-Friesian.

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Effect of level of milk replacer fed to Holstein calves on performance during the preweaning period and starter digestibility at weaning

Cited by 138 publications

References 21 publications

Influence of weaning regimen on intake, growth characteristics and plasma blood metabolites in male buffalo calves

Influence of weaning regimen on intake, growth characteristics and plasma blood metabolites in male buffalo calves

Performance of Holstein calves having free access to milk and dosed with Megasphaera elsdenii

Characterisation of haematological profiles and whole blood relative gene expression levels in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey bull calves undergoing gradual weaning

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