Faster Growth, More Milk From ‘Accelerated’ Feeding

By Ron Johnson Dairy Editor
Thursday, August 21, 2008 8:15 AM CDT

So-called “accelerated” feeding programs for calves do work. Benefits include faster growth, earlier first calving, better health, and higher milk production.

Jim Drackley, a professor of nutrition in the animal sciences department at the University of Illinois-Urbana, Champaign, outlined these benefits during the recent Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference at Dubuque, Iowa.

Of course, to get those results, dairy producers need to feed their calves properly. Drackley noted that the calves must get a “properly formulated” milk replacer or whole milk. And, they need to be fed “approximately twice the traditional rate.” That means feeding calves milk replacer or milk equal to 16 to 20 percent of their birth weights.

Heifers can “easily” calve two weeks earlier if an accelerated feeding program is used, according to Drackley. In some cases, he added, they can be ready to breed so they calve a month or more earlier.

“Of course, to realize this decrease in calving age, heifers must be bred according to body size rather than age,” Drackley reminded.

And, calves must have enough colostrum early to be able to use the extra nutrients they will get later. Plus, young calves that are adapting to stress n such as that of shipping n might be less able to use extra milk solids.

Health

“Poor health during early life is believed to have long-lasting effects on milk production and herd life,” Drackley pointed out. But he added that studies have not found “strong relationships” between specific illnesses and conditions and later calf survival or milk production. The one exception is respiratory illnesses delaying the age at first calving.

A study in 1981 fed calves 600 grams a day of milk replacer while other calves got 300 or 400 grams. Calves also got to eat all the calf starter they wanted or a set amount.

Calves getting the higher amount of milk replacer and all the starter they wanted gained the most weight per day. And, fewer of those calves died.

“The available evidence suggests that improvements in health seen with calves fed greater amounts of milk or milk replacer likely are due to improved overall nutritional status rather than to any specific alterations in immune system characteristics or function,” Drackley said.

He then talked about a study he was involved in during 1996. This one examined the amount of milk replacer calves need during cold weather.

Jersey heifer calves being raised in outdoor hutches were fed a conventional milk replacer at 8 percent of their weight. Those calves lost weight and had “a high incidence of health problems,” Drackley said.

“Calves fed the same milk replacer at 10 percent of body weight gained small amounts but were still unhealthy,” he continued. “Only when calves were fed at a rate of 12 percent of body weight were they able to maintain health and modest weights of gain.”

Milk production

“One of the most exciting current areas of research concerning accelerated feeding is to document long-term effects of early nutrition on subsequent productivity,” nutritionist said. “As more and more lactation data become available for calves fed differently…it is becoming clear that improved growth rates and early nutrition translate into greater milk production.”

Average milk production gains for calves that were fed better range between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds during the first lactation.

“We compared an accelerated milk replacer feeding system with a conventional limit-feeding system for calves born in spring and summer over two subsequent years,” Drackley related. “…Calves fed the accelerated treatments had greater average daily gains during the milk feeding period but stalled markedly around weaning. By 12 weeks of age, differences in body weight and stature had narrowed…”

Calves that had been on the conventional diet averaged 20,340 pounds of milk each during their first lactations. But those on the accelerated program averaged 23,269 pounds of milk.

From the second year of the study, calves that had been on the conventional diet averaged 19,351 pounds of milk in their first lactations. By contrast, those that had been on the accelerated program averaged 20,104 pounds.

Drackley went on to say that the results of a “large experiment” with heifer calves and bull calves born on the University of Illinois dairy farm are being analyzed. Calves were on either a “traditional, restricted” feeding program of a milk replacer containing 20 percent crude protein and 20 percent fat or an “intensified, step-up” program with a milk replacer containing 28 percent crude protein and 15 percent fat.

The average daily gains through eight weeks of age were 20 percent larger for calves on the intense feeding program. What’s more, these calves grew taller. Their height at the withers was 24 percent more than the height of the calves on the traditional program.

“We have followed these heifers through subsequent growth and their first lactation,” said Drackley. “The data should allow a complete economic evaluation of the program.”

Comments »

Comment on this story

Comments will be approved within 48 hours

Name:

Email: (optional)

Comments:

Image Verification: (Case sensitive)