Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:12:09.191Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Responses of young calves to low ambient temperatures at two levels of feeding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. W. Schrama ,
A. Arieli ,
M. J. W. Heetkamp  and
M. W. A. Verstegen
J. W. Schrama
Affiliation:
Animal Husbandry Department, Agricultural University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands Animal Nutrition Department, Agricultural University, Haagsteeg 4, 6708 PM Wageningen, The Netherlands
A. Arieli
Affiliation:
Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
M. J. W. Heetkamp
Affiliation:
Animal Husbandry Department, Agricultural University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
M. W. A. Verstegen
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Department, Agricultural University, Haagsteeg 4, 6708 PM Wageningen, The Netherlands
Get access

Abstract

Seven groups of five or six Holstein-Friesian male calves were transported to an experimental farm at 2 to 3 days of age. At 6 days of age, heat production (HP) and metabolizable energy (ME) intake were measured for an 8-day period. During this period, calves were exposed to various ambient temperatures: 6, 9, 12 and 15°C. Ambient temperature was constant within days, but changed between days. Calves were fed below (four groups) or near (three groups) the maintenance requirements (290 or 460 kJ ME per kg M0·75 per day).

From 6 to 14 days of age the lower critical temperature (Tc) was 12·5°C and HP increased by 8·4 kJ/kg M0·75 per day per °Cfall in ambient temperature below Tc. Both Tc and increase in HP below Tc were not affected by feeding level. Rectal temperature was lower at low ambient temperatures. The decrease in rectal temperature with ambient temperature was greatest at the low feeding level.

During the experimental period, calves were not in a steady-state regarding energy metabolism. Heat production decreased with time. This decrease was affected by feeding level and ambient temperature. After arrival, the influence of both ambient temperature and feeding level on the energy metabolism of young calves increased with time.

Keywords

calvesenergy metabolismfood intakeheat productionthermoregulation
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , December 1992 , pp. 397 - 405
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blaxter, K. L. 1989. Energy metabolism in animals and man. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Brody, S. 1945. Bioenergetics and growth. Reinhold, New York.Google Scholar
Brouwer, E. 1965. Report of Sub-Committee on Constants and Factors. In Energy metabolism (ed. Blaxter, K. L.), pp. 441–443. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Crookshank, H. R., Elissalde, M. H., White, R. G., Clanton, D. C. and Smalley, H. E. 1979. Effect of transportation and handling of calves upon blood seru m composition. Journal of Animal Science 48: 430–435.Google Scholar
Dantzer, R. 1982. Research on farm animal transport in France: a survey. In Transport of animals intended for breeding, production and slaughter (ed. Moss, R.), pp. 218–230. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dantzer, R. and Mormede, P. 1983. Stress in farm animals: a need for reevaluation. Journal of Animal Science 57: 6–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Es, A. J. H. van, Nijkamp, H. J., Weerden, E. J. van and Hellemond, K. K. van. 1969. Energy, carbon and nitrogen balance experiments with veal calves. In Energy metabolism of farm animals (ed. Blaxter, K. L., Kielanowski, J. and Thorbek, G.), pp. 197–201. Oriel Press, Newcastle upon Tyne.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Jimenez, E. and Blaxter, K. L. 1962. The metabolism and thermal regulation of calves in the first month of life. British Journal of Nutrition 16: 199–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, C. W. and McLean, N. A. 1975. Effects of air temperature and air movement on the heat produced by young Friesian and Jersey calves, with some measurements of the effects of artificial rain. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 18: 277–284.Google Scholar
Johnston, J. D. and Buckland, R. B. 1976. Response of male Holstein calves from seven sires to four management stresses as measured by plasma corticoid levels. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 56: 727–732.Google Scholar
Kent, J. E. and Ewbank, R. 1983. The effect of road transportation on the blood constituents and behaviour of calves. I. Six months old. British Veterinary Journal 139: 228–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kent, J. E. and Ewbank, R. 1986a. The effect of road transportation on the blood constituents and behaviour of calves. II. One to three weeks old. British Veterinary Journal 142: 131–140.Google Scholar
Kent, J. E. and Ewbank, R. 1986b. The effect of road transportation on the blood constituents and behaviour of calves. III. Three months old. British Veterinary Journal 142: 326–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meulenbroeks, J., Verstegen, M. W. A., Hel, W. van der, Korver, S. and Kleinhout, G. 1986. The effect of genotype and metabolizable energy intake on protein and fat gain in veal calves. Animal Production 43: 195–200.Google Scholar
Mitchell, H. H. 1928. Livestock investigations 1927–28. Report of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, p. 155.Google Scholar
Mormède, P., Soissons, J., Bluthe, R. M., Raoult, J., Legarff, G., Levieux, D. and Dantzer, R. 1982. Effect of transportation on blood serum composition, disease incidence, and production traits in young calves. Influence of the journey duration. Annales de Recherches Vétérinaires 13: 369–384.Google Scholar
Mount, L. E. 1974. The concept of thermal neutrality. In Heat loss from animals and man (ed. Monteith, J. L. and Mount, L. E.), pp. 425–439. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Mount, L. E. 1979. Adaptation to the thermal environment: man and his productive animals. Edward Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Okamoto, M., Robinson, J. B., Christopherson, R. J. and Young, B. A. 1986. Summit metabolism of newborn calves with and without colostrum feeding. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 66: 937–944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peet, G. F. V. van der, Verstegen, M. W. A. and Koops, W. J. 1987. A formula to describe the relation between heat production at thermoneutral as well as below thermoneutral temperatures simultaneously. In Energy metabolism in farm animals: effects of housing, stress and disease (ed. Verstegen, M. W. A. and Henken, A. M.), pp. 150–163. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
Poczopko, P. 1981. The environmental physiology of juvenile animals. In Environmental aspects of housing for animal production (ed. Clark, J. A.), pp. 109–130. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Roy, J. H. B., Huffman, C. F. and Reineke, E. P. 1957. The basal metabolism of the newborn calf. British Journal of Nutrition 11: 373–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schrama, J. W., Hel, W. van der, Arieli, A. and Verstegen, M. W. A. 1992. Alteration of energy metabolism of calves fed below maintenance during 6 to 14 days of age. Journal of Animal Science 70: 2527–2532.Google Scholar
Schrama, J. W., Hel, W. van der, and Verstegen, M. W. A. 1991. Thermal demand of one-week-old calves at two feeding levels. In New trends in veal calf production (ed. Metz, J. H. M. and Groenestein, C. M.), European Association for Animal Production Publication No. 52, pp. 123–126. Pudoc, Wageningen.Google Scholar
Scibilia, L. S., Muller, L. D., Kensinger, R. S., Sweeney, T. F. and Shellenberger, P. R. 1987. Effect of environmental temperature and dietary fat on growth and physiological responses of newborn calves. Journal of Dairy Science 70: 1426–1433.Google Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1985. SAS user's guide: statistics, version 5 edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Verstegen, M. W. A., Hel, W. van der, Brandsma, H. A., Henken, A. M. and Bransen, A. M. 1987. The Wageningen respiration unit for animal production research: a description of the equipment and its possibilities. In Energy metabolism in farm animals: effects of housing, stress and disease (ed. Verstegen, M. W. A. and Henken, A. M.), pp. 21–48. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, A. J. F. 1976. The influence of the climatic environment on metabolism in cattle. In Principles of cattle production (ed. Swan, H. and Broster, W. H.), pp. 103–120. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Webster, A. J. F., Gordon, J. G. and McGregor, R. 1978. The cold tolerance of beef and dairy type calves in the first weeks of life. Animal Production 26: 85–92.Google Scholar
Webster, A. J. F., Saville, C., Church, B. M., Gnanasakthy, A. and Moss, R. 1985. Some effects of different rearing systems on health, cleanliness and injury in calves. British Veterinary Journal 141: 472–483.Google Scholar