Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T19:08:38.984Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effect of giving 11 or 14 feeds of milk substitute per week to early-weaned calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

Ch. V. Boucque
Affiliation:
National Institute for Animal Nutrition, 9231 Gontrode, Belgium
F. X. Buysse
Affiliation:
National Institute for Animal Nutrition, 9231 Gontrode, Belgium
B. G. Cottyn
Affiliation:
National Institute for Animal Nutrition, 9231 Gontrode, Belgium
Get access

Summary

Two rearing experiments were carried out to study the effect of omitting three feeds per week from an early-weaning system on the performance of 110 male calves. From the third week the calves in the experimental groups received only one feed of milk substitute on Saturdays, at 11.00 hr; on Sundays they received no milk substitute at all; from Monday to Friday they were fed twice daily. The animals in the control groups received milk substitute twice daily during the 7 days of the week, quantity per feed being the same as for the experimental groups.

The calves were weaned at 8 weeks in experiment 1 and at 5 weeks in experiment 2.

In both experiments the calves in the control group had a significantly higher daily gain than the experimental calves during the third to the fifth weeks. From 6 to 16 weeks arid for the experiment as a whole no significant difference in weight gain or feed intake were observed. The omission of three feeds per week offered considerable advantages in the saving of labour and convenience of management.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 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

Ackerman, R. A., Thomas, R. O. and Hatch, R. C. 1968. Effect of once-a-day feeding on growth of calves. J. Dairy Sci. 51: 971 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
British Oil and Cake Mills. 1966. 5½-day calf feeding. Farmer and Stockbreeder 80: 10.Google Scholar
Burt, A. W. A. 1968. A note on the effect of giving milk substitute only once a day to early-weaned calves. Anim. Prod. 10: 113116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eeckhout, W. and Buysse, F. 1967. [The effect of giving milk substitute once or twice daily on the growth of male calves used for intensive beef production.] Revue Agric, Brux. 20: 15611570.Google Scholar
Eeckhout, W. and Buysse, F. 1969. [The effect of giving milk substitute once or twice daily on the growth of calves used for intensive beef production (2nd communication).] Revue Agric, Brux. 22: 11111123.Google Scholar
Kellner, O. and Becker, M. 1966. [Principles of Nutrition] (14th ed.). Verlag Paul Parey, Hamburg and Berlin.Google Scholar
Khouri, R. H. 1969. The feeding of milk once daily to early weaned calves. N.Z.Jl. agric. Res. 12: 650654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laird, R., Mills, E. G., Day, N. and Walker-Love, J. 1969. A comparison of three calf-rearing systems. Anim. Prod. 11: 285 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Owen, F., Plum, M. and Harris, L. 1965. Once versus twice daily feeding of milk to calves weaned at 21 or 42 days of age. J. Dairy Sci. 48: 824 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Perks, D. A., Meadowcroft, S. and Dyer-James, J. 1968. Once-a-day feeding of milk substitute for calves. Anim. Prod. 10: 235 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Preston, T. R. 1956. Studies on the rearing of calves weaned from milk between two and four weeks of age. Proc. Br. Soc. Anim. Prod. pp. 6777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. and Cochran, W. G. 1967. Statistical Methods (6th ed.). Iowa State College Press, Ames, la.Google Scholar
Willett, L. B., Albright, J. L. and Cunningham, M. D. 1969. Once- versus twice-daily feeding of milk replacer to calves. J. Dairy Sci. 52: 390391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, J. 1968. Once-daily feeding of calves. Vet. Rec. 83: 4243.Google Scholar
Wooden, K. G., Speicher, J. A. and Huber, J. T. 1968. Effect of feeding systems on feed and labor costs and rates of gain in dairy calves. J. Dairy Sci. 51: 971 (Abstr.).Google Scholar