The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of physical form of starter and alfalfa hay (AH) provision on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites of Holstein dairy calves. Forty-four 3d-old Holstein dairy calves with a mean starting BW of 39.9 ± 1.1 kg were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The factors were dietary forage level (0 or 150 g kg-1 AH; DM basis) and physical form of starter feed (coarsely mashed vs. pelleted). Individually housed calves were randomly assigned to 4 treatments: 1) a coarsely mashed starter feed without AH provision (MS-NAH), 2) a coarsely mashed starter feed with AH provision (MS-AH), 3) a pelleted starter feed without AH provision (PS-NAH), and 4) a pelleted starter feed with AH provision (PS-AH). The calves were weaned on d 60 and remained in the study until d 70. The results showed that feeding pelleted starter decreased starter intake significantly compared with coarsely mashed groups during the post-weaning (P < 0.01) and the entire period (P = 0.026).The interaction between AH inclusion and physical form of starter feed tended to be significant for both average daily gain (P = 0.092) and feed efficiency (P = 0.086). Inclusion of AH in the starter feeds increased rumination time and body barrel in calves. Blood urea nitrogen concentration in calves fed AH increased during post-weaning stage. Blood aspartate aminotransferase concentration was greater in calves fed PS form than those fed MS form. Although AH inclusion prevented rumen pH reduction during the pre-weaning period in calves fed PS form; ruminal pH decreased in PS groups in comparison with coarsely mashed groups during the post-weaning period. The pelleted form of starter increased total short chain fatty acids and butyric acid concentrations. However, coarsely mashed form and AH supplementation increased acetate concentration in the ruminal fluid. Overall, the results indicated that coarsely mashed form of starter could be recommended for Holstein dairy calves. Furthermore, AH inclusion in the starter diet may ameliorate the negative effects when pelleted starter is fed to dairy calves.
AOAC, 1990. Official Methods of Analysis. 15th Ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA, USA.
Bach, A., Gimenez, A., Juaristi, J.L., Ahedo, J., 2007. Effects of physical form of a starter for dairy replacement calves on feed intake and performance. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 3028-3033.
Beiranvand, H., Ghorbani, G.R., Khorvash, M., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., 2014. Forage and sugar in dairy calves’ starter diet and their interaction on performance, weaning age and rumen fermentation. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 4, 439-445.
Bergman, E.N., 1990. Energy contributions of volatile fatty acids from the gastrointestinal tract in various species. Physiological Review 70, 567-590.
Bramley, E., Lean, I.J., Fulkerson, W.J., Stevenson, M.A., Rabiee, A.R., Costa, N.D., 2008. The definition of acidosis in dairy herds predominantly fed on pasture and concentrates. Journal ofDairy Science 91, 308-321.
Britton, R., Stock, R.A., Sindt, M., Olivers, B., Parrott, C., 1991. A new feed additive and technique to evaluate acidosis in cattle. Nebr. Cattle Feeders Day. Pp 55-58. University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Castells, L., Bach, A., Arís A., Terré, M., 2013. Effects of forage provision to young calves on rumen fermentation and development of the gastrointestinal tract. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 5226-5236.
Coverdale, J.A., Tyler, H.D., Quigley, J.D., Brumm, J.A., 2004. Effect of various levels of forage and form of diet on rumen development and growth in calves. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 2554-2562.
Ferreira, L.S., Bittar, C.M.M., 2011. Performance and plasma metabolites of dairy calves fed starter containing sodium butyrate, calcium propionate or sodium monensin. Animal 5, 239–245.
Grant, R.J., Colenbrander, V.F., Mertens, D.R., 1990. Milk fat depression in dairy cows. Role of silage particle size. Journal of Dairy Science 73, 1834-1842.
Hill, T.M., Bateman, H.G., Aldrich, J.M., Schlotterbeck, R.L., 2010. Roughage amount, source, and processing for diets fed to weaned dairy calves. Professional Animal Scientists 26, 181-187.
Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Falahati R., Poorhamdollah, M., Heidari, S.R., Pezeshki, A., 2018. Essential oils improved weight gain, growth and feed efficiency of young dairy calves fed 18 or 20% crude protein starter diets. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 102, 652-661.
Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Mirzaei, M., Jahani-Moghadam, M., Soltani, A., Mahjoubi, E., Patton, R.A., 2016. Interactions between levels of heat-treated soybean meal and prilled fat on growth, rumen fermentation, and blood metabolites of Holstein calves. Journal of Animal Science 94, 4267-4275.
Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Salem, A.Z.M., Lopez, S., 2017. Influence of barley grain particle size and treatment with citric acid on digestibility, ruminal fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in Holstein calves. Animal 11, 1295-1302
Khan, M.A., Lee, H.J., Lee, W.S., Kim, H.S., Ki, K.S., Hur, T.Y., Suh, G.H., Kang, S.J., Choi, Y.J., 2007. Structural growth, rumen development, and metabolic and immune responses of Holstein male calves fed milk through step-down and conventional methods. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 3376-3387.
Laarman, A.H., Oba, M., 2011. Short communication: Effect of calf starter on rumen pH of Holstein dairy calves at weaning. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 5661-5664.
Lassiter, C.A., Denton, T.W., Brown, L.D., Rust, J.W., 1955. The nutritional merits of pelleting calf starters. Journal of Dairy Science 38, 1242-1245.
Mirzaei, M., Khorvash, M., Ghorbani, G.R., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Riasi, A., Soltani, A., Moshiri, B., Ghaffari, M.H., 2016. Interactions between the physical form of starter (mashed versus textured) and corn silage provision on performance, rumen fermentation, and structural growth of Holstein calves. Journal of Animal Science 94, 78-686.
Mirzaei, M., Khorvash, M., Ghorbani, G.R., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Riasi, A., Nabipour, A., van den Borne, J.J.G., 2015. Effects of supplementation level and particle size of alfalfa hay on growth characteristics and rumen development in dairy calves. Journal of Animal Physiologyand Animal Nutrition 99, 553-564.
Nagaraja, T.G., Lechtenberg, K.F., 2007. Liver Abscesses in feedlot cattle. VeterinaryClinicsofNorth America: Food Practice 3, 351-369.
Nocek, J.E., Kesler, E.M., 1980. Growth and rumen characteristics of Holstein steers fed pelleted or conventional diets. Journal of Dairy Science 63, 249-254.
National Research Council, 2001. Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. 7th Revised Ed. National Academy Press. Washington, DC.
Owens, F.N., Secrist, D.S., Hill, W.J., Gill, D.R., 1998. Acidosis in cattle: a review. Journal ofAnimal Science 76, 275-286.
Pazoki, A., Ghorbani, G.R., Kargar, S., Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi, A., Ghaffari, M.H., Drackley, J.K., 2017. Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and rumen development of calves during transition from liquid to solid feed: Effects of physical form of starter feed and forage provision. Animal Feed Science and Technology 234, 173-185.
Phillips, C.J.C., 2004. The effects of forage provision and group size on the behavior of calves. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 1380-1388.
Phuong, H.N., Friggens, N.C., de Boer, I.J.B., Schmidely, P., 2014. Factors affecting energy and nitrogen efficiency of dairy cows: A meta-analysis. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 7245-7259.
Porter, J.C., Warner, R.G., Kertz, A.F., 2007. Effect of fiber level and physical form of starter on growth and development of dairy calves fed no forage. Professional Animal Scientists 23, 395-400.
Redbo, I., Nordblad, A., 1997. Stereotypies in heifers are affected by feeding regime. AppliedAnimal Behavioral Science 53, 193-202.
Suarez-Mena, F.X., Hill, T.M., Jones, C.M., Heinrichs, A.J., 2016. Review: Effect of forage provision on feed intake in dairy calves. Professional Animal Scientists 32, 383-388.
Terré, M., Castells, L., Khan, M.A., Bach, A., 2015. Interaction between the physical form of the starter feed and straw provision on growth performance of Holstein calves. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 1101-1109.
Van Soest, P.J., Robertson, J.B., Lewis, B.A., 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber nonstarch polysaccharide in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583-3597.
Zitnan, R., Voigt, J., Schonhusen, U., Wegner, J., Kokardova, M., Hagemeister, H., Lekut, S., Kuhla, S., Sommer. A., 2998. Influence of dietary concentrate to forage ratio on the development of rumen mucosa in calves. Archives of Animal Nutrition. 51, 279-291.
Nilieh, M. R., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Mirzaei, M., & Khodaei-Motlagh, M. (2018). Interaction effect of starter physical form and alfalfa hay on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites in Holstein calves. Journal of Livestock Science and Technologies, 6(2), 9-19. doi: 10.22103/jlst.2019.12845.1247
MLA
M. R. Nilieh; M. Kazemi-Bonchenari; M. Mirzaei; M. Khodaei-Motlagh. "Interaction effect of starter physical form and alfalfa hay on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites in Holstein calves". Journal of Livestock Science and Technologies, 6, 2, 2018, 9-19. doi: 10.22103/jlst.2019.12845.1247
HARVARD
Nilieh, M. R., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Mirzaei, M., Khodaei-Motlagh, M. (2018). 'Interaction effect of starter physical form and alfalfa hay on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites in Holstein calves', Journal of Livestock Science and Technologies, 6(2), pp. 9-19. doi: 10.22103/jlst.2019.12845.1247
VANCOUVER
Nilieh, M. R., Kazemi-Bonchenari, M., Mirzaei, M., Khodaei-Motlagh, M. Interaction effect of starter physical form and alfalfa hay on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites in Holstein calves. Journal of Livestock Science and Technologies, 2018; 6(2): 9-19. doi: 10.22103/jlst.2019.12845.1247
)
