Behavior of dairy heifers after increasing the amounts of milk replacer powder added to whole milk

Sâmara Raiany De Almeida Rufino,Mariana Magalhães Campos,Pamela Michéli Furini,Juliana Aparecida Mello Lima,Maria De Fátima Avila Pires,Sandra Gesteira Coelho,Rafael Alves De Azevedo,Fernanda Samarini Machado

doi:10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2019.v54.00181

Sâmara Raiany De Almeida Rufino, Mariana Magalhães Campos + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2019.v54.00181

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Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of increasing the contents of total solids (TS) in whole milk, by adding increasing amounts of milk replacer powder, on the behavior of dairy heifers. Holstein-Gyr crossbred heifers (n = 60) were distributed in four treatments: 13.5, 16.1, 18.2, and 20.4% TS. From 5 to 55 days of age, heifers received 6 L per day of liquid feed, which was reduced by half from 56 to 59 days. Heifers were weaned at 60 days of age and monitored until 90 days, and their behavior was evaluated weekly. During gradual weaning and after weaning, heifer behavior was recorded 1 hour before and 1 hour after liquid feed was offered, and, during weaning, it was evaluated by the scan method. Heifers fed liquid feed containing 20.4% TS present a higher number of play behaviors, spent less time standing, and spent more time ruminating than those that received liquid feed with 13.5% TS, indicating that a higher nutritional plan during weaning is an effective strategy to reduce stress in this period.

Highlights

A restricted volume of milk (4 L per day) and weaning dairy calves at 60 days of age are strategies used to reduce the costs of rearing heifers, besides promoting starter consumption and rumen development
Even though the calves were reared individually in a hutch, they showed play behaviors; the increasing contents of total solids (TS) in liquid feed did not change the number of these activities between week 2 and 13, during preweaning (Table 2), indicating, that, under the conditions of this experiment, these behaviors were associated with nutrient intake
Krachun et al (2010) found that calves housed in groups and fed 12 L per day of milk spent more time playing than those receiving 6 L per day, suggesting that this behavior may be a useful parameter for the evaluation of the satiety and welfare of calves

Summary

Introduction

A restricted volume of milk (4 L per day) and weaning dairy calves at 60 days of age are strategies used to reduce the costs of rearing heifers, besides promoting starter consumption and rumen development. Despite the benefits of higher quantities of liquid feed to the average daily gain of calves (Kmicikewycz et al, 2013; Silper et al, 2014), without negatively affecting their health (Borderas et al, 2009; Bach et al, 2013) and rumen development (Khan et al, 2007), producers and technicians are opposed to elevating the volume of this type of feed due to increases in the costs of milk or milk replacer and to the reduction in starter consumption during the preweaning period (MillerCushon et al, 2013; Kiezebrink et al, 2015; Silva et al, 2015). There are no known studies evaluating the behavior of dairy calves fed using this strategy

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