Nucleotide Supplementation to Whole Milk Has Beneficial Effects on Post-Weaning Holstein Calf Performance

Abstract

The positive effects of nucleotide (NU) supplementation in milk replacer have been elucidated in infants and in dairy calves; however, NU addition to whole milk has not been evaluated previously. This study aimed to assess NU supplementation in the whole milk on calf growth and health. Thirty Holstein calves (body weight: 39.1 ± 1.0 kg; 3 d after birth) were randomly assigned to the following treatments: whole milk without any supplementation (NU0), whole milk + 0.5 g/d added a NU-containing supplement to whole milk (NUCS0.5), and whole milk + 1 g/d added a NU-containing supplement to whole milk (NUCS1). Calves were weaned at d 55 and stayed on study until d 75. Calves had free access to feed and water throughout the study. Dry matter intakes (DMI) were similar among treatments (p > 0.05) during the pre-weaning period; however, increasing NU resulted in a linear (p < 0.05) increase in DMI during the post weaning period (2158, 2432, and 2518 g/d for NU0, NUCS0.5, and NUCS1, respectively). Treatments did not affect body weight (BW) at the first and second month of study, but final BW linearly increased as NU was added (87.1, 90.6, and 95.4 kg for NU0, NUCS0.5, and NUCS1, respectively). Neither pre-weaning average daily gain nor post-weaning average daily gain was affected by treatments; accordingly, feed efficiency was similar among treatment groups. Days with loose fecal score were linearly decreased as NU was added to whole milk during the first month of life, while the fecal score did not differ among treatments until the end of the study. No difference was observed in the skeletal growth of calves in the current study. Therefore, it can be concluded that NU supplementation in the whole milk has some beneficial effects on calf performance in terms of final BW, post-weaning DMI, and less days with loose feces.

Assessing the impact of three feeding stages on rumen bacterial community and physiological characteristics of Japanese Black cattle

“…Nucleotides provide many health benefits to humans 60 and have been included in infant formulas for several years 61 ; similar advantages have been observed in livestock 62 , 63 . In ruminants, nucleotides improve the development of the gastrointestinal tract 62 , enhance animal performance 64 , and prevent neonatal diarrhea 62 . Nucleotide supplementation reportedly decreases the incidence of respiratory problems in dairy calves during the weaning period 65 .…”

A Comprehensive Review of Bovine Colostrum Components and Selected Aspects Regarding Their Impact on Neonatal Calf Physiology

“…was also observed in calves supplemented with nucleotides (yeastderived; 500 g/t of milk replacer; Ascogen, Chemoforma, Switzerland) [370]. Most studies on nucleotide supplementation have tested pre-weaned calves, but it appears that postweaning nucleotide supplementation may result in better growth performance [371,372]. It may be of interest to study the effect of nucleotide supplementation, especially uracil-based, in the very first days of life, given the good results of maternal supplementation and the natural variation of nucleo(s/t)ides in BC.…”