Effects of Feeding Milk Replacer Once Versus Twice Daily on Glucose Metabolism in Holstein and Jersey Calves

Abstract

Eighteen Holstein (experiment 1) and 15 Jersey (experiment 2) heifer calves were fed milk replacer once or twice daily to determine effects of feeding frequency on weight gain, starter intake, and glucose metabolism. Body weights were measured weekly from birth to 8 wk. Blood samples were collected at wk 1 through 6 from all calves before and at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min after the morning feeding. Plasma was analyzed for glucose, insulin, glucagon, and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA). Urine was collected 90 min postfeeding to measure glucose concentration. Treatment did not affect mean starter intake or body weight. In experiments 1 and 2 mean plasma glucagon, glucose, NEFA, and insulin and urinary glucose concentrations were not affected by treatment. There was an interaction of sampling time and treatment for plasma insulin concentrations but not for glucose concentrations in both experiments. Following feeding, calves fed milk replacer once daily had higher insulin concentrations than those fed twice daily. There was an interaction of sampling time and treatment for plasma NEFA concentrations in Jersey calves only. Jersey calves fed milk replacer once daily had higher plasma NEFA concentrations before the morning milk replacer feeding. At wk 3 and 6, frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed to assess glucose effectiveness, insulin sensitivity, and acute insulin response. In experiments 1 and 2 glucose effectiveness and insulin sensitivity were similar regardless of milk replacer feeding frequency. In Holstein and Jersey calves fed milk replacer twice daily, acute insulin response was greater than in calves fed once daily. However, insulin sensitivity decreased with age, while acute insulin response increased with age. These data suggest that feeding calves milk replacer once daily did not deleteriously affect performance or glucose metabolism regardless of breed.

Insulin sensitivity in calves decreases substantially during the first 3 months of life and is unaffected by weaning or fructo-oligosaccharide supplementation

“…Error bars represent SEM. Calculated parameters and statistics are given in Table 3. 7 ment with previous studies performed on young calves (Stanley et al, 2002;Bach et al, 2013;Yunta et al, 2015). This is, however, the first study in which this decrease has been assessed and compared in calves that were maintained on MR and calves that were progressively weaned during their first 3 mo of life, indicating that the decrease in sensitivity is independent of feeding strategy.…”

“…More interestingly, that study also showed that calves at ~14 wk of age are already relatively insensitive to insulin, compared with healthy nonruminants (Caumo et al, 2000;Stefanovski et al, 2011). Another study revealed that insulin sensitivity in neonatal dairy calves (<6 wk of age) decreases from wk 3 to 6, when calves are gradually weaned (Stanley et al, 2002). Moreover, Bach et al (2013) reported that a greater level of MR allowance (8 vs. 4 L/d) had a negative effect on the development of insulin sensitivity in young calves (1-8 wk of age) with ad libitum access to starter feed.…”

The potential of ramie as forage for ruminants: Impacts on growth, digestion, ruminal fermentation, carcass characteristics and meat quality of goats

“…These were accordant with the results of growth performance, digestibility trial and meat chemical composition in the Liuyang black castrated goats. The urea concentration in the serum reflects the metabolic balance between the protein and amino acids (Stanley et al., ). In this study, there was a significant decrease for urea in the ramie hay treatment than that of ramie silage treatment, which showed that the ramie hay treatment was better for promoting protein synthesis and deposition than ramie silage treatment in the body of Liuyang black castrated goats.…”

Insulin resistance and compensation in laminitis-predisposed ponies characterized by the Minimal Model

“…Increased insulin secretion compensates partially for decreased tissue response to insulin and has been observed in Thoroughbreds, calves and humans (Hoffman et al 2003, Stanley et al 2002, Welch et al 1990). However, insulin is also an important hormone in regulating fat metabolism, growth, and vascular function.…”