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Sustainable livestock systems focus on mitigating natural resource use such as water. Dietary management strategies can significantly reduce the water footprint of livestock animals; however, animal health is of concern when animals reduce water intake due to subacute dehydration. To evaluate potential consequences of this nutritional management intervention, a total of 23, 60 ± 3 days old nursing Holstein bull calves, weighing 94.7 ± 12.07 kg, were distributed in a completely randomized design and received one of three diets. Control was a basal diet composed of a non-medicated milk replacer (milk replacer; n = 7), and the additional two diets, were composed of the same non-medicated milk replacer in addition to either lipid [n = 8; milk replacer + menhaden fish oil (3 %)] or soluble carbohydrate [n = 8; milk replacer + corn starch (7%) isoenergetic to fat group] supplements. Animals were offered ad libitum mineral mix and water, as well as 120 g/day of a composite mix of dried microbrewery's spent grains. Data were analyzed as linear and generalized linear mixed models with diet as a fixed effect and animal as random utilizing R studio (R Core Team, 2021 , Vienna, Austria; SAS Inst. Cary, NC). Within supplementation groups, lipid supplemented calves had the highest lymphocyte (63.24 vs 57.69 counts/100 lymphocytes; P < 0.033), and lowest neutrophil counts (29.3 vs 35.3 counts/100 lymphocytes; P  < 0.047). Supplementation significantly increased total serum protein (P  = 0.001) and skin moisture (P  < 0.011), with carbohydrate group having the highest skin moisture (5.30 vs 3.99; P  < 0.047). Supplementation also decreased fecal fluidity scores (P < 0.001) with no significant change in serum electrolytes (P  > 0.256). No significant differences were found amongst treatments for the ingestive behavior (P  > 0.338). The carbohydrate-supplemented calves significantly decreased all daily water footprints compared to the control and fat-supplemented groups: blue a 47.55 L decrease, (P  < 0.001), green a 265.62 L decrease (P  = 0.005), and gray a 55.87 L decrease (P  = 0.009) water footprint, as well as total water footprint (369.04 L, P  = 0.004). Our results indicate the potential to maintain animal performance while increasing water use efficiency through diet supplementation tailored to mitigate water use, without adverse effects on animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compare pre- and postweaning growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality attributes of calves that did not receive an implant or were implanted early or late in the nursing period. Crossbred steer calves (n = 135) were stratified by birth date and birth weight and randomly assigned to the following implant treatments: control (CON; no preweaning implant), 58 d (EARLY; 36 mg zeranol, administered at an average of 58 ± 13 d of age), and 121 d (LATE; 36 mg zeranol, administered at an average 121 ± 13 d of age). After weaning, steers were blocked by initial feed yard BW to 15 pens (5 pens/treatment and 9 steers/pen). All steers were implanted on d 21 after arrival at the feed yard and again on d 108 of finishing. Steer BW and ultrasound assessment of rib eye area (uREA), rib fat thickness (uRFT), and percent intramuscular fat (uIMF) were collected when implants were administered, at weaning, and on harvest day. Carcass measurements included HCW, rib eye area (REA), 12th-rib fat thickness (FT), and marbling score. Objective color (L*, a*, and b*) was recorded, and a 3.8-cm strip loin section was removed from both sides of each carcass and portioned into 2.54-cm steaks that were aged for 3 or 14 d for analysis of cook loss and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). The remaining portion of each sample was used for analysis of moisture and crude fat. Steer BW, ADG, and G:F did not differ among treatments (P > 0.05). Steers implanted in the EARLY treatment had a greater (P < 0.05) cumulative DMI than CON but were not different from steers implanted in the LATE treatment. Ultrasound REA and uRFT (averaged across all collection days) did not differ (P > 0.05); however, steers on the CON treatment had a greater (P ≤ 0.05) percent uIMF than EARLY implanted steers, whereas steers receiving the LATE implant were intermediate and not different from the other treatments. Hot carcass weight, REA, FT, USDA yield grade, marbling score, and objective color did not differ (P > 0.05) among treatments. The proportion of steers in each USDA yield and quality grade was similar (P > 0.05) among treatments, and no differences were detected for total carcass value or price per 45.4 kg (hundredweight; P > 0.05). Treatment did not influence (P > 0.05) percent cook loss, crude fat, moisture, or WBSF. In conclusion, administering a nursing implant, regardless of timing, did not influence live performance, carcass characteristics, or meat quality of steers fed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable livestock systems focus on mitigating natural resource use such as water. Dietary management strategies can significantly reduce the water footprint of livestock animals; however, animal health is of concern when animals reduce water intake due to subacute dehydration. To evaluate potential consequences of this nutritional management intervention, a total of 23, 60 ± 3 days old nursing Holstein bull calves, weighing 94.7 ± 12.07 kg, were distributed in a completely randomized design and received one of three diets. Control was a basal diet composed of a non-medicated milk replacer (milk replacer; n = 7), and the additional two diets, were composed of the same non-medicated milk replacer in addition to either lipid [n = 8; milk replacer + menhaden fish oil (3 %)] or soluble carbohydrate [n = 8; milk replacer + corn starch (7%) isoenergetic to fat group] supplements. Animals were offered ad libitum mineral mix and water, as well as 120 g/day of a composite mix of dried microbrewery's spent grains. Data were analyzed as linear and generalized linear mixed models with diet as a fixed effect and animal as random utilizing R studio (R Core Team, 2021, Vienna, Austria; SAS Inst., Cary, NC). Within supplementation groups, lipid supplemented calves had the highest lymphocyte (63.24 vs 57.69 counts/100 lymphocytes; P < 0.033), and lowest neutrophil counts (29.3 vs 35.3 counts/100 lymphocytes; P  < 0.047). Supplementation significantly increased total serum protein ( P  = 0.001) and skin moisture ( P  < 0.011), with carbohydrate group having the highest skin moisture (5.30 vs 3.99; P  < 0.047). Supplementation also decreased fecal fluidity scores (P < 0.001) with no significant change in serum electrolytes ( P  > 0.256). No significant differences were found amongst treatments for the ingestive behavior ( P  > 0.338). The carbohydrate-supplemented calves significantly decreased all daily water footprints compared to the control and fat-supplemented groups: blue a 47.55 L decrease, ( P  < 0.001), green a 265.62 L decrease ( P  = 0.005), and gray a 55.87 L decrease ( P  = 0.009) water footprint, as well as total water footprint (369.04 L, P  = 0.004). Our results indicate the potential to maintain animal performance while increasing water use efficiency through diet supplementation tailored to mitigate water use, without adverse effects on animal health., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Blood pH, carbon dioxide and oxygen partial pressures, bicarbonate, total carbon dioxide, base excess, standard bicarbonate and oxygen saturation concentrations were measured by blood gas analyses in a study of assessment of the acid-base status in young calves. Venous blood samples were taken from 80 healthy female Holstein calves, from four to 30 days of age. The calves were divided in two groups based on the interval between the morning milk feeding and the blood sample collection (up to 30 minutes or over two hours). Greater alkali reserve and higher carbon dioxide pressure values were observed later than 2h after milk feeding, supporting the influence of the diet on the acid-base balance of calves during the milk feeding phase.

Nutrition models are important in predicting animal growth; however, little research has focused on nursing calf performance submodels. This project's objective was to determine the accuracy and precision of two equations to compute nursing calves' feed intake. Data were collected on 394 nursing calves from 4 sets of cows (years 1953, 1959, 1964, 1974) of various breeds in which monthly milk yield and butterfat content, individual calf feed intake, and birth and weaning weights were measured during their first three lactations. Cows were milked at 14-d intervals to determine milk yield. The calf feed intake equations used to predict observed feed intake were Equation 9.1 (TED06; Tedeschi et al., 2006, In "Nutrient Digestion and Utilization in Farm Animals: Modeling Approaches") and Equation 25 (TED09; Tedeschi and Fox, 2009, J. Anim. Sci. 87:3380). Peak milk was estimated from lactation yield using the NASEM (2016) milk yield equation. The average (SD) peak milk, calf ME intake (MEI) over a 240-day preweaning period, and weaning weight were 10.84 (5.64) kg/d, 1,286 (328.71) Mcal of ME, and 280.93 (46.70) kg, respectively. When compared to the observed calf feed intake, TED06 and TED09 had Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.19 and 0.59, respectively. The MEI mean biases were -355.3 and 190.7 Mcal of for TED06 and TED09, respectively, indicating a 27.6% over prediction and 14.8% under prediction, respectively. The RMSE and R2 from linear regression of observed on predicted values of calf MEI were 308.7 Mcal and 0.0365 for TED06, and 253.2 Mcal and 0.3514 for TED09, respectively. In conclusion, neither equation adequately predicted calf feed intake, but the TED09 equation was more accurate and precise than the TED06 equation. Further research is needed to enhance our understanding of factors affecting feed intake of nursing calves to develop better prediction equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactobacillus and Bacillus probiotics may serve as an alternative to antibiotics in milk replacer for preruminant calves by altering gastrointestinal microflora to prevent the proliferation of harmful bacteria. However, there are limited studies evaluating their impact on calf growth and efficiency. The objective of this trial was to discover the impact of probiotic-containing milk replacer on pre-ruminating calf growth performance. A total of 44 pre-ruminant calves (50% Angus/50% Holstein, average weight 39.3 kg + 7.5 kg) were fed milk replacer with either no probiotic or 1.25x10-9 colony forming units/head/day of a probiotic blending containing Lactobacillus and two different Bacillus species (Church & Dwight Animal Nutrition (Princeton, NJ). Calves were blocked by age and randomly assigned within block to one of two treatments in a randomized complete block design. Calf was the experimental unit, with 22 calves per treatment. Calf weight and hip height was measured on d 0 and 30 to calculate average daily gain (ADG) and average growth per day. Calves were offered 1.36 kg milk replacer [15% dry matter (DM)] twice daily and up to 0.5 kg starter feed (88% DM) once daily. Refusals were recorded to calculate average daily intake and gain to feed ratio (G:F). Initial weight differed (P = 0.020) between treatments, and was therefore used as a covariate in all response criteria. Calves fed milk replacer with probiotic had greater (P < 0.05) ADG (0.53 vs. 0.42 kg/d, respectively) and G:F (0.50 vs. 0.41, respectively) than those fed the control. There was no evidence (P >0.05) that probiotic inclusion impacted hip height on d 30 or daily intake. In summary, Lactobacillus and Bacillus probiotic inclusion in milk replacer improved calf growth performance without impacting intake. Subsequent research is warranted to elucidate mode of action and evaluate impact relative to an antibiotic-containing positive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring alternative supplementation sources capable of maximizing feed and water efficiency in nursing Holstein calves is often ignored. The goals herein involve investigating the effects of two isoenergetic supplements on a nonmedicated milk replacer diet on total water intake, milk water intake, fresh water intake, feed intake parameters, and performance of Holstein nursing bull calves. Twenty-three animals (body weight [BW] = 94.67 ± 12.07 kg, age = 67 days old) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments for 68 days: control (CON; ad libitum milk replacer, n = 7), carbohydrate supplement (CHO; corn starch on top of ad libitum milk replacer-based diet, n = 8), or lipid supplement (FAT; menhaden fish oil on top of ad libitum milk replacer-based diet, n = 8). The isoenergetic supplementation consisted of 3% menhaden fish oil addition on DM basis for FAT. This was matched energetically with corn starch for the CHO group resulting in a 7% composition in DM basis. All animals were provided free access to mineral mix and 120 g daily dried microbrewer's spent grains ( BG ). Data were analyzed with the GLMMIX procedure of SAS in a completely randomized design with the diets as a fixed effect. Dry matter intake (DMI) adjusted by average daily gain (ADG; DMI/ADG) resulted in significantly lower values for supplemented groups with CON = 2.48, CHO = 2.38, and FAT = 2.27 kg/kg (ADG) ( P = 0.033). Energy intake values were lower for CON when analyzing metabolizable energy intake ( P < 0.0001), net energy intake for maintenance ( P < 0.0001), and net energy intake for gain ( P < 0.0001), followed by CHO, and then FAT. Total water intake ( P < 0.0001), milk water intake ( P < 0.0001), and fresh water intake ( P < 0.0001) all resulted in CHO consuming 0.5 L or less water than the other two treatments. Energy requirements as digestible energy ( P < 0.0001), metabolizable energy ( P < 0.0001), net energy for maintenance ( P < 0.0001), and net energy for gain ( P < 0.0001) were lower for CHO, followed by CON, and then FAT having the highest requirements. Similar results were observed for residual feed ( RFI ; P = 0.006) and residual water intakes ( RTWI ; P = 0.902). Ultimately, no performance differences were detected with regards to BW (CON = 146.71, CHO = 146.25, and FAT = 150.48 kg; P > 0.1). These results indicate that lipid-based and starch-based supplementation can potentially increase feed efficiency and decrease voluntary water intake without adversely affecting performance., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)