Investigation of weaning strategy and solid feed location for dairy calves individually fed with an automated milk feeding system

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 2 gradual weaning programs and 2 locations of solid feed within individual calf pens on feed intake, growth, and behavior of calves fed milk by an automated milk feeder. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 60 female calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 weaning treatments and 1 of 2 solid feed placement treatments. Calves were assigned to a continuous gradual weaning program (CG) or a multi-step gradual weaning program (MG). Calves assigned to the CG treatment had their milk allocation reduced in small, equal increments from 12.5 L/d on d 43 to 2 L/d on d 56. Calves assigned to the MG treatment were offered 10 L/d on d 43 to 45, 8 L/d on d 46 to 49, 6 L/d on d 50 to 52, and 3 L/d on d 53 to 56. Solid feed was placed either at the front of the pen adjacent (ADJ) to where the automated milk feeder offered milk or at the back of the pen on the opposite (OPP) side from where the milk was offered. All calves were offered 12.5 L/d of milk replacer from d 2 to 42, fresh solid feed (5% chopped wheat straw mixed with 95% calf starter pellet) from d 5 onward, and ad libitum water starting d 0. Calves were weaned from d 43 to 56 and additionally monitored from d 57 to 70.No interactions of effects of weaning and feed location treatment were detected. Both MG and CG calves had similar water and solid feed consumption, blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations, and behavior. By design, calves on the CG treatment consumed greater amounts of milk during the weaning phase than MG treatment calves (6.7 vs. 6.3 L/d), which resulted in milk drinking behavior differing between the treatments during the weaning phase. Although average daily gain and body weights were similar between treatments, MG calves had greater middle girth gain during wk 7 compared with CG calves (0.6 vs. 0.3 cm/d). Calves on the ADJ treatment consumed 16.7% more solid feed and 0.55 L/d more milk during the preweaning phase compared with OPP treatment calves. In all 3 phases, ADJ treatment calves consumed more water than OPP treatment calves. The ADJ calves spent more time consuming solid feed during the 10-wk period. The ADJ treatment calves had 10% greater average daily gain compared with OPP treatment calves during the preweaning phase. Overall, the results indicate that both gradual weaning treatments resulted in similar performance and behavior. However, placement of solid feed next to the milk source was demonstrated to increase feed, water, and milk intake during the preweaning stage, contributing to greater growth.

Effect of a milk byproduct–based calf starter feed on dairy calf nutrient consumption, rumen development, and performance when fed different milk levels

“…Calves on this trial experienced a high level of NCD, with 73.3% of calves being treated for NCD, regardless of treatment. This level is much higher than the 31.7% recently reported by our group that was conducted at the same facility (Parsons et al, 2020) and the 21.4% reported for digestive issues in North America (Urie et al, 2018).…”

“…A power analysis (Morris, 1999;Hintze, 2008) was performed before the study for the primary response variables, including feed intake and BW. Estimates of variation for these variables (mean CV = 15%) were based on previously reported values (Eckert et al, 2015;Overvest et al, 2016;Parsons et al, 2020). From the power analysis, it was determined that at 80% power, treatment differences of ~8% could be detected at this sample size (n = 30 calves per treatment combination).…”

Presence of Adult Companion Goats Favors the Rumen Microbial and Functional Development in Artificially Reared Kids

“…Previous studies with calves have demonstrated that decreasing the milk allowance during the artificial milk feeding period or optimizing the type of solid feed (e.g., presentation form and taste) and feeder location prior to weaning can encourage young ruminants to increase the solid feed intake ( 1 , 4 ). However, artificial milk feeding in conjunction with early weaning strategies can limit the rumen microbiological colonization by a microbial consortium able to perform the major fermentative and metabolic functions required at weaning and beyond, which may have negative effects on the weaning process ( 3 ).…”

“…Artificial milk represents a substantial feeding cost in the current production systems, but weaning is not recommended until the rumen has a sufficient anatomical, physiological, and microbiological development ( 3 ), particularly when early weaning (conventional) is performed at 2 months of age. Several nutritional strategies have been proposed to maximize the solid feed intake prior to weaning such as decreasing milk allowance (step-down weaning) or optimizing feeder location and type of solid feed ( 1 , 4 ). Nevertheless, these strategies are unlikely to favor the rumen microbial development.…”

Effects of milk replacer meal size on feed intake, growth performance, and blood metabolites and hormones of calves fed milk replacer with or without butyrate ad libitum: A cluster-analytic approach

“…However, in the intensive milk or MR feeding program, more attention must be paid to weaning (Meale et al, 2017;Mirzaei et al, 2020). Reducing milk or MR feeding too fast or too early may result in impaired growth and development during the weaning process (Mirzaei et al, 2018;Welboren et al, 2019;Parsons et al, 2020).…”