Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of including crude glycerin in the diet on intake, performance, rumen development, and carcass traits of dairy crossbred veal calves fed starter concentrate containing 0, 80, 160, and 240 g kg−1 crude glycerin. Twenty-eight calves with an average weight of 38.03±6.7 kg and five days of age were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments with seven replications. Calves were individually housed in covered stalls equipped with feeders and drinkers for 56 days. The calf response to inclusion of crude glycerin in the concentrate changed over the weeks and the inclusion level of 240 g kg−1 resulted in greater dry matter intake and average daily gain. There was no effect on the final weight and total weight gain of the animals, with mean values of 73.60 and 35.16 kg, respectively. The weight of the rumen-reticulum adjusted for body weight, empty body weight, and total stomach weight increased linearly with the inclusion of crude glycerin. Blood total protein, globulin, urea, cholesterol, gamma glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase concentrations did not differ among treatments. Carcass traits and meat color were not affected. Crude glycerin can be added to dairy calf starter concentrate up to 240 g kg−1 dry matter because it benefits concentrate intake, performance, and rumen development without affecting animal health.
Highlights
Using adequate feeding and management techniques when raising male dairy veal calves allows these animals to be exploited for quality meat production and improves the efficiency of dairy farms
The calf response to inclusion of crude glycerin in the concentrate changed over the weeks and the inclusion level of 240 g kg−1 resulted in greater dry matter intake and average daily gain
Dry matter intake was influenced by including crude glycerin in the feeder calf concentrate (Table 2), and a linear increase was observed as the calf age increased (P
Summary
Using adequate feeding and management techniques when raising male dairy veal calves allows these animals to be exploited for quality meat production and improves the efficiency of dairy farms. Using by-products in the starter concentrate to substitute noble ingredients, such as corn and soybean, can be an alternative strategy for economic exploitation of these animals to reduce rearing costs without impairing the animal performance. According to Napoles et al (2012), crude glycerin can be used as an alternative energy source in substitution of corn in calf starter concentrate up to 100 g kg−1 of the DM without affecting ruminal or blood parameters. The crude glycerin can replace up to 460 g kg−1 of the total lactose in milk replacers (Ebert et al, 2008; Raeth-Knight et al, 2009) or it can be used as a component of oral rehydration solution for young calves without any impacts on calf performance or health (Werner Omazic et al, 2013). Regarding carcass traits or chemical composition of the longissimus lumborum area, no significant effects were reported when crude glycerin was included at 300 g kg−1 DM in the finishing diet of steers (Mach et al, 2009; Bartoň et al, 2013; Van Cleef et al, 2014)
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