Associations between milk intake and activity in the first days of a calf's life and later growth and health

被引:19
作者
de Passille, Anne Marie [1 ]
Rabeyrin, Marine [2 ]
Rushen, Jeffrey [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ British Columbia, Agassiz, BC, Canada
[2] Wageningen Univ, NL-6700 AP Wageningen, Netherlands
关键词
Dairy calf; Milk intake; Calf vigour; Weight gain; Health; Activity; AD-LIBITUM MILK; FEEDING-BEHAVIOR; CALVES; PERFORMANCE; BIRTH; NUTRITION; MORTALITY; AGE; STRATEGIES; COLOSTRUM;
D O I
10.1016/j.applanim.2014.10.002
中图分类号
S8 [畜牧、 动物医学、狩猎、蚕、蜂];
学科分类号
0905 ;
摘要
We examined whether calves' milk intake and activity in the days after birth predict later growth and the risk of illness. Female Holstein calves (n = 130) were housed in individual pens where they were allowed ad libitum milk from birth to 5 days of age. Daily milk intakes were recorded and accelerometers attached to the calves measured time spent standing and lying down. After 5 days, calves were housed in group pens with four to nine calves per group and allowed 12 L/day of milk and ad libitum hay and starter from automated feeders. Calves were weighed at birth (birth weight = BW) and at 28 days of age and health status was determined daily. Digestible energy (DE) intakes were calculated from feed intakes. During days 2-4, there were large differences among calves in the amount of milk consumed, which ranged from 7.3% BW/day (2.4 L/day) to 30.5% BW/day (12 L/day) with a median of 16.3% BW/day (6.7 L/day). Twenty-one calves were treated for illness from days 6 to 28. These calves had lower milk intakes on days 2, 3 and 4 than calves that remained healthy (P < 0.05). For the calves that did not become ill, milk intake on day 4 was correlated (r = 0.29; P < 0.01) with ADG from days 0 to 28 and correlated (r = 0.33; P = 0.03) with the residual body weight on day 28 (when birth weight and digestible energy intakes from days 5 to 28 were accounted for using multiple regression). Time spent standing from days 2 to 4 varied between calves but was not correlated with BW, milk intake during days 2-4, or weight gains to day 28 (P > 0.10). Very young calves can drink large quantities of milk, and the calves that drink the largest amounts in the first days of life have greater long-term growth rates and are less likely to become ill. Milk intake may be a better sign of early calf vigour than activity levels. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:2 / 7
页数:6
相关论文
共 33 条
[1]   Performance and feeding behaviour of calves on ad libitum milk from artificial teats [J].
Appleby, MC ;
Weary, DM ;
Chua, B .
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE, 2001, 74 (03) :191-201
[2]   RUMINANT NUTRITION SYMPOSIUM: OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFSPRING: Nourishing and managing the dam and postnatal calf for optimal lactation, reproduction, and immunity [J].
Bach, A. .
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE, 2012, 90 (06) :1835-1845
[3]   The impact of dystocia on dairy calf health, welfare, performance and survival [J].
Barrier, A. C. ;
Haskell, M. J. ;
Birch, S. ;
Bagnall, A. ;
Bell, D. J. ;
Dickinson, J. ;
Macrae, A. I. ;
Dwyer, C. M. .
VETERINARY JOURNAL, 2013, 195 (01) :86-90
[4]   Temperature preferences and feed level of the newborn dairy calf [J].
Borderas, Fernando T. ;
de Passille, Anne Marie B. ;
Rushen, Jeff .
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE, 2009, 120 (1-2) :56-61
[5]   Automated measurement of changes in feeding behavior of milk-fed calves associated with illness [J].
Borderas, T. F. ;
Rushen, J. ;
von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. ;
de Passille, A. M. B. .
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE, 2009, 92 (09) :4549-4554
[6]   Effect of growth and development during the rearing period on the subsequent fertility of nulliparous Holstein-Friesian heifers [J].
Brickell, J. S. ;
Bourne, N. ;
McGowan, M. M. ;
Wathes, D. C. .
THERIOGENOLOGY, 2009, 72 (03) :408-416
[7]   Mortality in Holstein-Friesian calves and replacement heifers, in relation to body weight and IGF-I concentration, on 19 farms in England [J].
Brickell, J. S. ;
McGowan, M. M. ;
Pfeiffer, D. U. ;
Wathes, D. C. .
ANIMAL, 2009, 3 (08) :1175-1182
[8]  
Cole C. L., 1937, Journal of Dairy Science, V20, P113, DOI 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(37)95670-4
[9]   Technical note: Use of accelerometers to describe gait patterns in dairy calves [J].
de Passille, A. M. ;
Jensen, M. B. ;
Chapinal, N. ;
Rushen, J. .
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE, 2010, 93 (07) :3287-3293
[10]   The physiological and physical status of single calves at birth in a dairy herd in New Zealand [J].
Diesch, TJ ;
Mellor, DJ ;
Stafford, KJ ;
Ward, RN .
NEW ZEALAND VETERINARY JOURNAL, 2004, 52 (05) :250-255