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The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets: II. The effect of length of period of feeding cold milk substitute to spring–born calves at pasture

The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets: II. The effect of length of period of feeding cold milk substitute to spring–born calves at pasture

Authors :
J. C. Tayler
C. R. Lonsdale
Source :
The Journal of Agricultural Science. 73:483-488
Publication Year :
1969
Publisher :
Cambridge University Press (CUP), 1969.

Abstract

SummaryAn experiment was conducted with 32 spring-born Friesian heifer calves, purchased at an average age of 10 days and fed on cold reconstituted milk substitute at pasture.The milk feeding treatments were 4, 4½, 6½ and 9½ weeks in length, during which time calves consumed an average of 17, 23, 43 and 70 kg dry matter/head of milk substitute respectively. The differences between treatment mean live-weight gains for 10½ weeks of the experiment were highly significant (P < O·OOl): the gains were 0·49, 0·43, 0·64 and 0·78 kg/head/day. There was no significant difference between mean rates of live-weight gain after the tenth week so that the overall treatment—mean live-weight gains for the first 23 weeks, which were 0·65, 0·61, 0·72 and 0·74 kg/head/day, strongly reflected the length of the milk-feeding period and demonstrated no significant compensatory growth by the calves.Twenty of these animals were housed for the subsequent winter period and were returned to pasture for a second grazing season. These were artificially inseminated as their individual live weights reached approximately 320 kg. Animals weaned after only 4 weeks of milk feeding took an average of 9½ weeks longer to reach live weights of 320 kg than these receiving milk for 9½ weeks. There were no marked indications of compensatory growth during this extended period of observations.

Details

ISSN :
14695146 and 00218596
Volume :
73
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
The Journal of Agricultural Science
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........fecfdf81c56bdf9badd3b357b124961c
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859600020116