Should Pre-Weaning Calf Diets Include Forage?


Veröffentlicht: Jan 18, 2024
Aktualisiert: 2024-01-18
H Muruz
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1975-4545
T Aksu
Abstract

The present review article aimed to update and address the biological consequences of forage supply to pre-weaned dairy calves. Early growth and development of a calf play a great role in lifelong performance of the animal. Comprehension of these stages is an important progress achieved in calf nutrition today. Health, milk-solid feed intake and rumen development are the most important factors related to calf growth in pre- and post-weaning periods. It is well understood that fermentation by-products of grain-based starter feeds are essential for increased growth and absorptive capacity of the rumen papillae. In pre-weaned calves, two major hypotheses exist regarding forage feeding. The first hypothesis describes that the rumen was not completely developed in pre-weaned calves and forage supply during this period might increase gut fill and hence, decrease starter intake. It is believed that depressed starter intake may limit energy intake and finally suppress calf growth rate. The second hypothesis indicates that rumen pH may decline as calf age and starter intake increases. Accordingly, forage supplementation into calf starter diets could prevent further rumen pH decline and subsequent negative consequences while improving starter intake and calf growth. Because research data regarding these hypotheses are controversial, there is no universally accepted standard for feeding calves with forage as a part of starter diets. Many factors, such as milk feeding method, grain, forage type and experimental conditions, could affect calf response to dietary forage. However, there is an evidence that limited consumption of forage may be beneficial on rumen health and behavior of calves consuming highly processed (pelleted or finely ground) starter feed in pre-weaning period.


Keywords: Forage; Growth performance; Pre-weaned calf; Rumen development

Article Details
  • Rubrik
  • Research Articles
Downloads
Keine Nutzungsdaten vorhanden.
Literaturhinweise
Ahmadi F, Ghasemi E, Alikhani M, Akbarian-Tefaghi M, Hosseini Ghaffari M (2022) Effects of group housing and incremental hay supplementation in calf starters at different ages on growth performance,
behavior, and health. Sci Rep Reports, 12(1):1-14.
Anderson KL, Nagaraja TG, Morrill JL, Avery TB, Galitzer SJ, Boyer
JE (1987) Ruminal microbial development in conventionally or early-weaned calves. J Anim Sci 64(4):1215-1226.
Bagheri N, Alamouti AA, Norouzian MA, Mirzaei M, Ghaffari MH
(2021) Effects of wheat straw particle size as a free-choice provision
on growth performance and feeding behaviors of dairy calves. Animal 15(2):100128.
BAMN (2017) A guide to feeding and weaning healthy and productive
dairy calves. AFIA Publications. Available from: https://www.aphis.
usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/downloads/bamn/BAMN17_
GuideFeeding_1.pdf. [Accessed: 2021-05-05].
Beiranvand H, Ghorbani GR, Khorvash M, Nabipour A, Dehghan-Banadaki M, Homayouni A, Kargar S (2014) Interactions of alfalfa hay
and sodium propionate on dairy calf performance and rumen development. J Dairy Sci 97: 2270-2280.
Castells L, Bach A, Aris A, Terré, M (2013) Effects of forage provision to
young calves on rumen fermentation and development of the gastrointestinal tract. J Dairy Sci 2013;96:5226-5236.
Castells L, Bach A, Araujo G, Montoro C, Terre M. (2012) Effect of different forage sources on performance and feeding behavior of Holstein
calves. J Dairy Sci 90: 5226-5236.
Chen T, Xiao J, Li T, Ma J, Alugongo GM, Khan MZ, Liu S, Wang W,
Wang Y, Li S, Cao Z. (2021). Effect of the Initial Time of Providing
Oat Hay on Performance, Health, Behavior and Rumen Fermentation
in Holstein Female Calves. Agriculture, 11(9):862.
Daneshvar D, Khorvash M, Ghasemi E, Mahdavi AH, Moshiri B, Mirzaei M, Pezeshki A, Ghaffari MH. (2015) The effect of restricted milk
feeding through conventional or step-down methods with or without forage provision in starter feed on performance of Holstein bull
calves. J Anim Sci 93(8):3979-3989.
Diao Q, Zhang R, Fu T. (2019) Review of strategies to promote rumen
development in calves. Animals, 9: 490.
Engelking LE, Matsuba T, Inouchi K, Sugino T, Oba, M. (2020) Effects of
feeding hay and calf starter as a mixture or as separate components to
Holstein calves on intake, growth, and blood metabolite and hormone
concentrations. J Dairy Sci 103(5):4423-4434.
Gąsiorek M, Stefańska B, Pruszyńska‐Oszmałek E, Komisarek J, Nowak
W (2021) Effects of the straw inclusion in the diet of dairy calves
on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and blood metabolites during pre‐and post‐weaning periods. J. Anim Physiol Anim
Nutr 106(1):33-44.
Gasiorek M, Stefanska B, Pruszynska-Oszmalek E, Taciak M, Komisarek J, Nowak, W (2020) Effect of oat hay provision method on
growth performance, rumen fermentation and blood metabolites of
dairy calves during pre-weaning and post-weaning periods. Animal
:2054-2062.
Ghahremani A, Mahjoubi E, Hossein Yazdi M, Chamani M, Bahrami M,
Patton RA (2021) Forage inclusion in calf starter has the best outcome
when it is supplemented since 21 days after birth in Holstein calves.
Trop Anim Health Prod 53:203.
Ghassemi Nejad J, Torbatinejad N, Naserian AA, Kumar S, Kim JD, Song
YHC, Ra S, Sung KI (2012) Effects of processing of starter diets on
performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen biochemical parameters
and body measurements of brown swiss dairy calves. Asian-Australas
J Anim Sci 25:980-987.
Heinrichs AJ, Heinrichs BS, Harel O, Rogers GW, Place NT (2005) A
prospective study of calf factors affecting age, body size, and body
condition score at first calving of Holstein dairy heifers. J Dairy Sci
(8):2828-2835.
Hill TM, Bateman II HG, Aldrich JM, Schlotterbeck RL (2008) Effects
of the amount of chopped hay or cottonseed hulls in a textured calf
starter on young calf performance. J Dairy Sci 91(7):2684-2693
Hill TM, Bateman II HG, Aldrich JM, Schlotterbeck RL (2012) Highstarch, coarse-grain, low-fiber diets maximize growth of weaned
dairy calves less than 4 months of age. Prof Anim Sci 28(3):325-331.
Hill TM, Dennis TS, Suarez-Mena FX, Quigley JD, Aragona KM, Schlotterbeck RL (2019) Effects of free-choice hay and straw bedding on
digestion of nutrients in 7-week-old Holstein calves. Appl Anim Sci 35:312-317
Horvath KC, Miller-Cushon EK (2019) Evaluating effects of providing
hay on behavioral development and performance of group-housed
dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 102(11):10411-10422.
Hosseini SH, Mirzaei-Alamouti H, Vazirigohar M, Mahjoubi E, Rezamand
P (2019) Effects of whole milk feeding rate and straw level of starter
feed on performance, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, structural growth, and feeding behavior of Holstein calves. Anim Feed
Sci Technol 255:114238.
Hosseini SM, Ghorbani GR, Khorvash PRM (2016) Determining optimum age of Holstein dairy calves when adding chopped alfalfa hay
to meal starter diets based on measures of growth and performance.
Anim Int J Anim Biosci 10(4):607-615.
Imani M, Mirzaei M, Baghbanzadeh-Nobari B, Ghaffari MH (2017) Effects of forage provision to dairy calves on growth performance and
rumen fermentation: A meta-analysis and meta-regression. J Dairy
Sci 100(2):1136-1150.
Jahani-Moghadam M, Mahjoubi E, Yazdi MH, Cardoso FC, Drackley JK
(2015) Effects of alfalfa hay and its physical form (chopped versus
pelleted) on performance of Holstein calves. J Dairy Sci 98(6):4055-
Jami E, Israel A, Kotser A Mizrahi I (2013) Exploring the bovine rumen bacterial community from birth to adulthood. The ISME Journal 7(6):1069-1079.
Kargar S, Kanani M, Albenzio M, Caroprese M (2019) Substituting corn
silage with reconstituted forage or nonforage fiber sources in the
starter diets of Holstein calves: effects on performance, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites. J Anim Sci 97(7):3046-3055.
Kehoe SI, Dill-McFarland KA, Breaker JD, Suen G (2019) Effects of corn
silage inclusion in preweaning calf diets. J Dairy Sci 102(5):4131-
Kehoe SI, Górka P, Cao ZJ (2021) Incorporating silages into preweaned
dairy calf diets. In: Advanced Studies in the 21st Century Animal Nutrition. 1st, Intechopen, London: pp 1-21.
Khan MA, Bach A, Weary DM, Von Keyserlingk MAG (2016) Invited
review: Transitioning from milk to solid feed in dairy heifers. J Dairy
Sci 99(2):885-902.
Khan MA, Burggraaf VT, Thomson B, Muir P, Lowe K, Koolaard J,
Heiser A, Leath S, McCoard S, Khan MA, Burggraaf VT, Thomson
B, Muir P, Lowe K, Koolaard J, Heiser A, Leath S, McCoard S (2020)
Feeding forage or concentrates early in life influences rumen fermentation, metabolic response, immune function and growth of Wagyu ×
Friesian calves. Anim Prod Sci 60:1418-1428.
Khan MA, Weary DM, Von Keyserlingk MAG (2011b) Hay intake improves performance and rumen development of calves fed higher
quantities of milk. J Dairy Sci 94(7):3547-3553.
Kowalski ZM, Gorka P, Schlagheck A, Jagusiak W, Micek P, Strzetelski J
(2009) Performance of Holstein calves fed milk-replacer and starter
mixture supplemented with probiotic feed additive. J Anim Feed Sci
:399-411.
Laarman AH, Oba M (2011) Short communication: Effect of calf starter
on rumen pH of Holstein dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 94(11):5661-5664.
Leao AE, Coelho SG, Azevedo RA, Campos MM, Machado FS, Laguna
JG, de Lima Reis DR (2020) Effect of pelleted vs. ground starter with or
without hay on preweaned dairy calves. PLoS ONE 15(7):e0234610.
Lin XY, Wang Y, Wang J, Hou QL, Hu ZY, Shi KR, Yan ZG, Wang ZH
(2018) Effect of initial time of forage supply on growth and rumen
development in preweaning calves. Anim Prod Sci 58(12):2224-2232
Meale SJ, Chaucheyras-Durand F, Berends H, Steele MA (2017) From
pre-to postweaning: Transformation of the young calf’s gastrointestinal tract. J Dairy Sci 100(7):5984-5995.
Miller-Cushon EK, DeVries TJ (2011) Effect of early feed type exposure
on diet-selection behavior of dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 94(1):342-350.
Miller-Cushon EK, Montoro C, Bach A, DeVries TJ (2013) Effect of early
exposure to mixed rations differing in forage particle size on feed
sorting of dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 96:3257-3264.
Mirzaei M, Khorvash M, Ghorbani GR, Kazemi-Bonchenari M, Ghaffari MH (2017) Growth performance, feeding behavior, and selected
blood metabolites of Holstein dairy calves fed restricted amounts of
milk: No interactions between sources of finely ground grain and forage provision. J Dairy Sci 100(2):1086-1094.
Mirzaei M, Khorvash M, Ghorbani GR, Kazemi-Bonchenari M, Riasi A,
Nabipour A, Borne JJGC (2015) Effects of supplementation level and
particle size of alfalfa hay on growth characteristics and rumen development in dairy calves. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 99:553-564.
Molaei M, Kazemi-Bonchenari M, Mirzaei M, Esmaeili HR (2021) The
physical form of starter (finely ground versus pelleted) and alfalfa hay
(chopped versus pelleted) in Holstein dairy calves: Effects on growth
performance, feeding behaviour, ruminal fermentation, and urinary
purine derivatives. Anim Feed Sci and Technol 279:115031.
Montoro C, Miller-Cushon EK, DeVries TJ, Bach A (2013) Effect of physical form of forage on performance, feeding behavior, and digestibility of Holstein calves. J Dairy Sci 96(2):1117-1124.
Movahedi B, Foroozandeh AD, Shakeri P (2017) Effects of different forage sources as a free‐choice provision on the performance, nutrient
digestibility, selected blood metabolites and structural growth of Holstein dairy calves. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 101(2):293-301.
NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine).
Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle: Eighth Revised Edition.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press
Nemati M, Amanlou H, Khorvash M, Mirzaei M, Moshiri B, Ghaffari MH
(2016) Effect of different alfalfa hay levels on growth performance,
rumen fermentation, and structural growth of Holstein dairy calves. J
Anim Sci 94:1141.
Nemati M, Amanlou H, Khorvash M, Moshiri B, Mirzaei M, Khan MA,
Ghaffari M H (2015) Rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, and
growth performance of calves during transition from liquid to solid
feed: Effects of dietary level and particle size of alfalfa hay. J Dairy
Sci 98:7131-7141.
Nocek JE, Kesler EM (1980) Growth and rumen characteristics of Holstein steers fed pelleted or conventional diets. J Dairy Sci 63(2):249-
Norouzian MA, Valizadeh R (2014) Effect of forage inclusion and particle
size in diets of neonatal lambs on performance and rumen development. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 98:1095-1101.
Omidi-Mirzaei H, Azarfar A, Mirzaei M, Kiani A, Ghaffari MH (2018)
Effects of forage source and forage particle size as a free-choice provision on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and behavior of
dairy calves fed texturized starters. J Dairy Sci 101(5):4143-4157.
Overvest MA, Bergeron R, Haley DB, DeVries TJ (2016) Effect of feed
type and method of presentation on feeding behavior, intake, and
growth of dairy calves fed a high level of milk. J Dairy Sci 99(1):317-
Poczynek M, Toledo AF, Silva AP, Silva MD, Oliveira GB, Coelho MG,
Virginio Jr GF, Polizel D, Costa JH Bittar CM (2020) Partial corn
replacement by soybean hull, or hay supplementation: Effects of increased NDF in diet on performance, metabolism and behavior of
pre-weaned calves. Lives Sci 231:103858.
Poier G, Terler G, Klevenhusen F, Sharma S, Zebeli Q (2022) Replacing
concentrates with a high-quality hay in the starter feed of dairy calves:
II. Effects on the development of chewing and gut fermentation, and
selected systemic health variables. J Dairy Sci 105(4):3113-3128.
Porter JC, Warner RG, Kertz AF (2007) Effect of fiber level and physical
form of starter on growth and development of dairy calves fed no
forage. Prof Anim Sci 23:395-400.
Soltani, M, Kazemi-Bonchenari M, Khaltabadi-Farahani AH, Afsarian
O. (2017) Interaction of forage provision (alfalfa hay) and sodium
butyrate supplementation on performance, structural growth, blood
metabolites and rumen fermentation characteristics of lambs during
pre-weaning period. Anim Feed Sci Technol 230:77-86.
Strzetelski JA, Brzóska F, Kowalski ZM, Osięgłowski S (2014) Feeding
recommendation for Ruminants and Feed Tables. Fundacja Insytytutu
Zootechniki PIB, Propanus Animalium, Kraków (in Polish).
Suarez BJ, Van Reenen CG, Stockhofe N, Dijkstra J, Gerrits WJJ (2007)
Effect of roughage source and roughage to concentrate ratio on animal performance and rumen development in veal calves. J Dairy Sci
(5):2390-2403.
Suarez-Mena FX, Heinrichs AJ, Jones CM, Hill TM, Quigley JD (2015)
Digestive development in neonatal dairy calves with either whole or
ground oats in the calf starter. J Dairy Sci 98(5):3417-3431.
Suarez-Mena FX, Heinrichs AJ, Jones CM, Hill TM, Quigley JD (2016)
Straw particle size in calf starters: Effects on digestive system development and rumen fermentation. J Dairy Sci 99(1):341-353.
Swanson EW, Harris Jr JD (1958) Development of rumina-tion in the
young calf. J Dairy Sci 41(12):1768-1776.
Takemura K, Shingu H, Mizuguchi H, Kim YH, Sato S, Kushibiki S
(2019) Effects of forage feeding on rumen fermentation, plasma metabolites, and hormones in Holstein calves during pre-and postweaning periods. J Anim Sci 97(5):2220-2229.
Tamate H, McGilliard AD, Jacobson NL, Getty R (1962) Effect of various
dietaries on the anatomical development of the stomach in the calf. J
Dairy Sci 45(3):408-420.
Terler G, Poier G, Klevenhusen F, Zebeli Q (2022) Replacing concentrates
with a high-quality hay in the starter feed in dairy calves: I. Effects
on nutrient intake, growth performance, and blood metabolic profile.
J Dairy Sci 105(3):2326-2342.
Terre M, Castells L, Khan MA, Bach A (2015) Interaction between the
physical form of the starter feed and straw provision on growth performance of Holstein calves. J Dairy Sci 98(2):1101-1109.
Terre M, Pedrals E, Dalmau A, Bach A (2013) What do preweaned and
weaned calves need in the diet: A high fiber content or a forage
source?. J Dairy Sci 96(8):5217-5225.
Toledo AFD, da Silva AP, Poczynek M, Coelho MG, Silva, MDD, Polizel DM, Reis ME, Virgínio Jr GF, Millen DD, Bittar CMM (2020)
Whole-flint corn grain or tropical grass hay free choice in the diet of
dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 103(11):10083-10098.
Webb LE, Engel B, Berends H, van Reenen CG, Gerrits WJJ, de Boer
IJM,. Bokkers EAM (2014b). What do calves choose to eat and how
do preferences affect behaviour?. Appl Anim Behav Sci 161:7-19.
Webb LE, Jensen MB, Engel B, van Reenen CG, Gerrits WJJ, de Boer
IJM, Bokkers EAM (2014a) Chopped or long roughage: what do
calves prefer? Using cross point analysis of double demand functions.
PLoS ONE. 9:e88778.
Wu Z, Azarfar A, Simayi A, Li S, Jonker A, Cao Z (2017) Effects of
forage type and age at which forage provision is started on growth
performance, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites and intestinal
enzymes in Holstein calves. Anim Prod Sci 58(12):2288-2299.
Xiao J, Alugongo GM, Li J, Wang Y, Li S, Cao Z (2020) Review: How
forage feeding early in life influences the growth rate, ruminal environment, and the establishment of feeding behavior in pre-weaned calves. Animals (Basel) 10:188
Am häufigsten gelesenen Artikel dieser/dieses Autor/in