Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T02:00:12.571Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does adding water to a dry starter diet improve calf performance during winter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2018

H. Beiranvand ,
M. Khani ,
F. Ahmadi ,
H. Omidi-Mirzaei ,
M. Ariana  and
A. R. Bayat
H. Beiranvand
Affiliation:
FKA Agri-Animal Production Co., Isfahan 13895–81799, Iran
M. Khani
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156–83111, Iran
F. Ahmadi
Affiliation:
Division of Food Biosciences, College of Medical Life Sciences, Konkuk University, Chung-Ju, Chungbuk 380–701, South Korea
H. Omidi-Mirzaei
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, PO Box 465, Khorramabad 44316-68151, Iran
M. Ariana
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Khorramabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorramabad 68178–16645, Iran
A. R. Bayat
Affiliation:
Milk Production, Production Systems, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), FI 31600, Jokioinen, Finland
Get access

Abstract

Very recently, we added water to a dry texturized starter diet and found substantial improvements in calf performance during summer, leading to the hypothesis that the wet starter diet would also benefit calf performance during winter. Forty-five 3-day-old male Holstein calves (BW 43.4±3.4 kg) were blocked by initial BW and distributed randomly to one of three starter diets (1 calf per pen; 15 pens per treatment) that differed only in moisture content as 90%, 75% and 50% dry matter (DM; DM90, DM75 and DM50, respectively). The starter diet comprised 55.1% ground ingredients (soybean meal, barley and corn gluten meal), 21.9% whole corn, 10% rolled barley and 10% chopped alfalfa hay. The mean ambient temperature averaged 2.1±0.9°C during the 70-day experiment. Calves were weaned at day 50 of the study. Although starter feed intake remained unaffected by treatment, the calves receiving DM75 and DM50 consumed more starter feed (DM basis) than those receiving DM90 diet during the first 20 days of the experiment. Body weight at weaning exhibited a quadratic response with the heaviest weaning weight (76.8 kg) occurring when calves consumed DM75 diet. Adding water to the dry starter diet tended to linearly increase final BW. Average daily gain during the pre- (0.67 kg/day) and post-weaning (1.22 kg/day) periods was the greatest for calves receiving DM75 and DM50, respectively. Although feed efficiency during the pre-weaning and overall periods did not differ across the treatments, a quadratic effect was detected in the post-weaning feed efficiency, with the lowest value being observed with DM75 diet. No difference was noted on skeletal growth parameters measured on days 50 and 70. Adding water to the dry starter diet linearly increased total volatile fatty acids concentration in the rumen. No difference among treatments existed in calf behavior recorded on days 35 and 70. As moisture content of the starter diet increased, the extent of sorting for long particles (>2 mm) and against fine particles (<0.125 mm) decreased. During the 70-day winter trial, adding water to the dry texturized starter diet with 10% chopped alfalfa hay resulted in a higher feed intake during the first weeks of life, a quadratic tendency toward improved growth rate during the pre-weaning period, and possibly a more functional rumen fermentation. A wet starter diet with 75% DM in the physical form offered in this study can be recommended to improve calf performance during winter.

Keywords

cold stressgrowth performancemoisture levelrumen fermentationsorting behavior
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 959 - 967
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2018 

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.)

Footnotes

†

Present address: Saffari & Salehi Agro-Industrial Co., Varamin, Tehran 3375113111, Iran. E-mail: [email protected]

References

Arieli, A, Schrama, JW, Van der Hel, W and Verstegen, MW 1995. Development of metabolic partitioning of energy in young calves. Journal of Dairy Science 78, 1154–1162.Google Scholar
American National Standards Institute (ASAE) 1995. Method of determining and expressing fineness of feed material by sieving. ASAE Standards 1995. ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA. p. 461.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists 1990. Official methods of analysis, 15th edition. AOAC, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Baldwin, RL, McLeod, KR, Klotz, JL and Heitmann, RN 2004. Rumen development, intestinal growth and hepatic metabolism in the pre- and postweaning ruminant. Journal of Dairy Science 87 (Esuppl.), E55–E65.Google Scholar
Bateman, HG, Hill, TM, Aldrich, JM and Schlotterbeck, RL 2009. Effects of corn processing, particle size, and diet form on performance of calves in bedded pens. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 782–789.10.3168/jds.2008-1242Google Scholar
Beiranvand, H, Khani, M, Omidian, S, Ariana, M, Rezvani, R and Ghaffari, MH 2016. Does adding water to dry calf starter improve performance during summer? Journal of Dairy Science 99, 1903–1911.Google Scholar
Berman, A 2003. Effects of body surface area estimates on predicted energy requirements and heat stress. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 3605–3610.Google Scholar
Costa, JHC, Adderley, NA, Weary, DM and von Keyserlingk, MAG 2016. Effect of diet changes on sorting behavior of weaned dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 99, 5635–5639.10.3168/jds.2015-10052Google Scholar
Dijkstra, J, Boer, H, Van Bruchem, J, Bruining, M and Tamminga, S 1993. Absorption of volatile fatty acids from the rumen of lactating dairy cows as influenced by volatile fatty acid concentration, pH and rumen liquid volume. British Journal of Nutrition 69, 385–396.Google Scholar
Drackley, JK 2008. Calf nutrition from birth to breeding. Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice 24, 55–86.Google Scholar
Felton, CA and DeVries, TJ 2010. Effect of water addition to a total mixed ration on feed temperature, feed intake, sorting behavior, and milk production of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 2651–2660.Google Scholar
Gardner, RW 1967. Acceptability and nutritional response comparisons between calf starters. Journal of Dairy Science 50, 729–734.Google Scholar
Garnsworthy, PC 2005. Calf and heifer rearing. Nottingham University Press, Nottingham, UK.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Jimenez, E and Blaxter, KL 1962. The metabolism and thermal regulation of calves in the first month of life. British Journal of Nutrition 16, 199–212.Google Scholar
Gordon, LJ and DeVries, TJ 2016. Technical note: impact of a molasses-based liquid feed supplement on the feed sorting behavior and growth of grain-fed veal calves. Journal of Animal Science 94, 3519–3526.Google Scholar
Iranian Council of Animal Care 1995. Guide to the care and use of experimental animals volume 1. Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.Google Scholar
Khan, MA, Bach, A, Castells, L, Weary, DM and von Keyserlingk, MA 2014. Effects of particle size and moisture levels in mixed rations on the feeding behavior of dairy heifers. Animal 8, 1722–1727.Google Scholar
Kononoff, PJ, Heinrichs, AJ and Buckmaster, DR 2003. Modification of the Penn State forage and total mixed ration particle separator and the effects of moisture content on its measurements. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 1858–1863.Google Scholar
Lahr, DA, Otterby, DE, Johnson, DG, Linn, JG and Lundquist, RG 1983. Effects of moisture content of complete diets on feed intake and milk production by cows. Journal of Dairy Science 66, 1891–1900.10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(83)82027-XGoogle Scholar
Lee, SM, Kim, YI, Oh, YK and Kwak, WS 2010. Effects of feeding methods of total mixed ration on behavior patterns of growing Hanwoo steers. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 23, 1469–1475.Google Scholar
Leonardi, C, Giannico, F and Armentano, LE 2005. Effect of water addition on selective consumption (sorting) of dry diets by dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 1043–1049.10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)72772-7Google Scholar
Litherland, NB, Da Silva, DN, LaBerge, RJ, Schefers, J and Kertz, A 2014. Supplemental fat for dairy calves during mild cold stress. Journal of Dairy Science 97, 2980–2989.10.3168/jds.2013-6942Google Scholar
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2010. Feeding amount affects the sorting behavior of lactating dairy cows. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 90, 1–7.Google Scholar
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2017. Feed sorting in dairy cattle: causes, consequences, and management. Journal of Dairy Science 100, 4172–4183.Google Scholar
Miller-Cushon, EK, Bergeron, R, Leslie, KE, Mason, GJ and DeVries, TJ 2013. Effect of early exposure to different feed presentations on feed sorting of dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 4624–4633.Google Scholar
Nasrollahi, SM, Khorvash, M, Ghorbani, GR, Teimouri-Yansari, A, Zali, A and Zebeli, Q 2012. Grain source and marginal changes in forage particle size modulate digestive processes and nutrient intake of dairy cows. Animal 6, 1237–1245.Google Scholar
National Research Council (NRC) 2001. Nutrient requirement of dairy cattle, 7th revised edition. NRC and National Academy of Science, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Nonnecke, BJ, Foote, MR, Miller, BL, Fowler, M, Johnson, TE and Horst, RL 2009. Effects of chronic environmental cold on growth, health, and select metabolic and immunologic responses of preruminant calves. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 6134–6143.Google Scholar
Robinson, PH, Burgess, PL and McQueen, RE 1990. Influence of moisture content of mixed rations on feed intake and milk production of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 73, 2916–2921.Google Scholar
Roland, L, Drillich, M, Klein-Jöbstl, D and Iwersen, M 2016. Invited review: Influence of climatic conditions on the development, performance, and health of calves. Journal of Dairy Science 99, 2438–2452.Google Scholar
SAS Institute 2002. SAS user’s guide: statistics. Release 9.1. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Scibilia, LS, Muller, LD, Kensinger, RS, Sweeney, TF and Shellenberger, PR 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
Sweeney, BC, Rushen, J, Weary, DM and De Passillé, AM 2010. Duration of weaning, starter intake, and weight gain of dairy calves fed large amounts of milk. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 148–152.Google Scholar
Van Soest, PV, Robertson, JB and Lewis, BA 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(91)78551-2Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Beiranvand et al. supplementary material

Beiranvand et al. supplementary material 1

Download Beiranvand et al. supplementary material(File)
File 28 KB