Effect of the volume of liquid diet on the consumption of concentrate and performance of dairy calves
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of volume of liquid diet on the consumption of concentrate and performance in calves. Sixteen animals were divided into two treatments: the liquid diet treatment with increasing/decreasing order (OC / D), offering 6,8,10,8,6,4,2,1 liters of whole milk per day during the weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively, and the 6 l.d-1treatment (n = 8), offering 6 liters of whole milk daily from day 0 to weaning (57 days). The data were analyzed with STATISTICA software (StatSoftV10) and Graph Pad Prism V.8.0.2 using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Significant results were evaluated with Dunn's test. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used. The dry matter intake for the OC/D treatment and 6 l.d-1 was different in the third (p <0.001) and seventh week (p = 0.02). The results indicate that in terms of dry matter intake (DM), crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) there were no significant differences between treatments, however, there was an effect of these between weeks. The consumption of concentrate at weaning was 0.80 and 0.48 kg (p <0.05) for the OC/D treatment and 6 l.d-1, respectively. The calves that received the OC/D treatment and 6 l.d-1 had an average weaning weight of 64.63 ± 1.79 and 56.00 ± 3.26 kg (p <0.05); daily weight gain of 0.50 ± 0.03 and 0.30 ± 0.04 kg.d-1 (p <0.05); height at weaning of 86.8 ± 0.54 and 84.1 ± 0.89 cm (p <0.05) and daily height gain at weaning of 0.22 ± 0.009 and 0.17 ± 0.01 cm.d-1 (p <0.05), respectively. The calves that received 6 l.d-1had a higher rearing cost (p <0.05). In conclusion, the results show that feeding volumes of whole milk with increasing-decreasing order had a positive impact on the consumption of concentrate, productive performance, and a lower cost of rearing during pre-weaning.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Universidad de Costa Rica
2020
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/nutrianimal/article/view/45168 |
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