The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets: I. The effect of type and temperature of milk substitute given ad libitum

Abstract

SUMMARYTwo experiments were carried out to study the effect of the ad libitum feeding of whole-milk substitutes, either warm or cold, and the availability of drinking water, on the level of food intake and live-weight gain of calves. Freshly cut grass or pasture was the sole source of solid feed.In Exp. 1 forty Hereford x Friesian male calves were reared individually indoors in a 2x2x2 factorial design experiment. The treatments were full-cream milk powder υ milk substitute, temperature at which the milk was offered, and drinking water υ no drinking water available to the calves. Fresh grass was cut daily and fed ad libitum to all animals from the sixth day of treatment.In Exp. 2, twelve Hereford x Friesian male calves were reared at pasture on warm or cold full-cream milk during weeks 1–7, and on milk substitute during weeks 8–15.During both experiments calves receiving warm milk drank slightly more than calves receiving cold milk; this difference was significant in Exp. 1 only. There was a tendency for calves receiving cold milk to make higher live-weight gains (0·05 < P < 0·1) when drinking water was available than when it was not. In Exp. 1, the rates of live-weight gain of calves receiving warm or cold milk substitute with drinking water available were 0·99 and 0·89 kg/head/day, respectively: for calves receiving full-cream milk powder the corresponding rates were 0·86 and 0·80 kg/head/day. When drinking water was not available the rates of gain of calves on warm or cold milk substitute were respectively 0·93 and 0·82 kg/head/day, and on full-cream milk powder, 0·94 and 0·55 kg/head/day.In Exp. 2 the rate of live-weight gain measured during the first 7 weeks, whilst calves were receiving full-cream milk powder, was 0·88 kg/head/day irrespective of the temperature at which the milk was given. During weeks 8–14 milk substitute was given, which resulted in rates of live-weight gain of 1·05 kg/head/day for calves receiving warm milk and 0–92 kg/head/day for calves receiving cold.The rates of gain attained on cold milk are considered adequate for rearing calves intended for an intensive system of production. It is also suggested that the use of cold milk could facilitate a marked decrease in the daily labour requirements associated with the artificial rearing of calves.