Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T18:50:22.278Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets:III. The effect of length of period of feeding cold milk Substitute to calves given dride grass in different physical forms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

C. R. Lonsdale  and
J. C. Tayler
C. R. Lonsdale
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LR
J. C. Tayler
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LR
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

An experiment was conducted with 63 July-born Friesian heifer calves, purchased at an average age of 10 days and fed cold reconstituted milk substitute for 4, 6 or 8 weeks. The sole ‘solid’ feed was dried grass, chopped and fed loose (a), milled through a 6 mm screen and pelleted (b) or milled through a 3 mm screen and pelleted (c). The experiment was of 3 x 3 factorial design.

Calves fed milk for 4, 6 or 8 weeks consumed mean amounts of 20, 42 and 63 kg milk D.M. respectively. During the first 10 weeks the mean daily intake of grass b was significantly greater than that of grasses a or c (0.77, 1.09 and 0.89 kg D.M. for grasses a, b and c respectively) and during weeks 11 to 21 the mean intake of grasses b and c was greater than that of a (3.1, 4.1, 3.7 kg D.M. for grasses a, b and c respectively). Also during weeks 11 to 21 the previous milk feeding had a small but significant effect on the mean daily intake of grass (3.4, 3.7, 3.8 kg D.M./head/day for 4, 6 and 8 weeks of milk feeding respectively).

Increasing the period of milk feeding significantly increased the rate of live-weight gain during the first 10 weeks, but subsequently had no effect. During the first 10 weeks and during weeks 11–21, feeding grass b or c significantly increased the rate of liveweight gain compared with grass a but had no effect during a period of uniform feeding, weeks 23–34.

During the first 21 weeks feed conversion efficiency was positively related to duration of milk feeding, and was greater for calves given grass b or c than, for thoso given grass a.

During weeks 23–34, 36 calves (4 from each original treatment) were fed another uniformly milled and pelleted dried grass. There were no significant differences in voluntary intake, live-weight gain or efficiency of food conversion between the groups of calves during this period. Hence the results of this experiment support previous observations, that when only forage diets are fed the effect of level of early nutrition is still evident in live weights of calves at 6 months of age.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , June 1971 , pp. 495 - 505
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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

REFERENCES

Baker, H. K. & Baker, R. D. (1965). A pilot study of an intensive system of beef production from grass. Tech. Rep. Grassland Res. Inst., no. 2.Google Scholar
Beabdsley, D. W. (1964). Symposium on forage utilization: nutritive value as affected by physical form. II. Beef cattle and sheep studies. J. Anim. Sci. 23, 239–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. & Graham, N. McC. (1956). The effect of the grinding and cubing process on the utilization of the energy of dried grass. J. agric. Sci. Camb., 47, 207–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burt, A. W. A. & Bell, E. O. (1962). Effect of level and concentrationof liquid milk substitutes fed to early weaned calves. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 58, 131–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, E. T., Pill, A. H., Colling, D. F., Venn, J. A. T. & Bridges, G. D. (1965). Cerebro-cortieal necrosis in calves. Vet. Rec. 77, 290.Google Scholar
Ekern, A., Blaxter, K. L. & Sawers, D. (1965). The effect of artificial drying and of freezing on the energy value of pasture herbage. In Energy Metabolism, ed. Blaxter, K. L.. Proc. Zrd Symp. Eur. Ass. Anim. Prod. pp. 217–24. London; New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
GRassland REsearch INstitute (1961). Research techniques used at the G.R.I. Hurley. Bull. Comm. Bur. Past. Fid Crops, no. 45.Google Scholar
Hodgson, J. (1969). The development of solid food intake in calves. Ph.D.thesis, University of Leeds.Google Scholar
Hussain, M. Z. (1963). Factors affecting the performance of early weaned calves. M.Sc. thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R., Poutiainen, E. K. & Tayler, J. C. (1971). The growth of young cattle fed dried grass alone and with barley. 1. Feed intake, digestibility and body gains. Anim. Prod, (in the Press).Google Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R. & Tayler, J. C. (1969a). The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets. II. The effect of length of period of feeding cold milk substitute to spring-born calves at pasture. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 73, 483–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonsdale, C. R. & Tayler, J. C. (19696). The effect of stage of maturity of artificially dried ryegrass and method of processing on growth of young cattle. Anim. Prod. 11, 273 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Meyer, J. H., Weir, W. C., Dobie, J. B. & Hull, J. L. (1959). Influence of the method of preparation on the feeding value of Alfalfa hay. J. Anim. Sci. 18, 976–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minson, D. J. (1963). The effect of pelleting and wafering on the feeding value of roughage. J. Br. Orassld Soc. 18, 39–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, L. A. (1964). Symposium on forage utilisation: nutritive value as affected by physical form. 1. General principles involved with ruminants and effect of feeding pelleted or wafered forage to dairy cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 23, 230–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paladines, O. L., Reid, J. T., Van Niekerk, B. D. H. & Bensadoun, A. (1964). Energy utilization by sheep as influenced by the physical form, composition and level of intake of diet. J. Nutr. 83, 49–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tayler, J. C. (1970). Dried forages and beef production. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 25, 180–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayler, J. C. & Lonsdale, C. R. (1969). The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets. I. The effect of type and temperature of milk substitute given ad libitum. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 73, 279–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayler, J. C. & Lonsdale, C. R. (1970). Growth of young cattle fed diets containing artificially dried forage. Paper presented at Joint Session of the Commissions on Animal Nutrition and Cattle Production, Eur. Ass. Anim. Prod., Gödö11ö, August, 1970, pp. 29.Google Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. & Terry, R. A. (1963). A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 18, 104–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, S. J. (1948). Feeding value of hay, dried grass and silage. Scott. Agric. 27, 226–33.Google Scholar