How neonatal diet affects the long-term development of rumination behavior, rumen fermentation and feed digestion in dairy calves fed a high milk level?

ABSTRACT: This study was to investigate growth performance, rumination development, rumen fermentation and feed digestion in young calves provided high volumes (about 20% of calf birth weight) of milk with or without forage inclusion and how these parameters correlate with each other. Immediately after birth, 160 newborn Holstein female calves (41.6 ± 4.2 kg of initial BW) were randomly divided into 2 treatments: 1) starter (CON, only starter) and 2) starter and hay (HAY, both starter and hay). The calves were fed their respective experimental diets from d 4 to 84, after which they were all introduced to similar diets until the end of the experiment on d 196. Treatment had no effect on growth and structural measurements throughout the experimental period. However, treatment had an effect on the othe

SUBMITTER: Xiao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10867562 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature