Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-10T10:42:10.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

C. R. Lonsdale  and
J. C. Tayler
C. R. Lonsdale
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire
J. C. Tayler
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

An 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.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , December 1969 , pp. 483 - 488
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1969

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aitken, J. N., Preston, T. R., Whitelaw, F. G., MacDearmid, A. & Chableson, E. B. (1963). Intensive beef production. 2. The effect of three, twelve or sixteen week weaning on the performance of Aberdeen-Angus crossbred cattle. Anim. Prod. 5 (1), 53–60.Google Scholar
Baker, R. D., Spedding, A. W., Kilkenny, J. B. & Tayler, J. C. (1967). Beef production handbook no. 1. Beef Recording Association (U.K.) Ltd.Google Scholar
Chambers, D. T. & Alder, F. E. (1960). Studies in calf management. II. The rearing of Spring-born calves at pasture. J. Br. Orassld Soc. 15 (4), 302–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crichton, J. A., Aitken, J. N. & Boyne, A. W. (1959). The effect of plane of nutrition during rearing on growth, production, reproduction and health of dairy cattle. I. Growth to 24 months. Anim. Prod. 1 (2), 145–62.Google Scholar
Davey, A. W. F. (1962). Effects of dilution of reconstituted buttermilk on the intake, growth and health of Jersey calves. N.Z. Jl agric. Res. 5, 560–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grassland Research Institute (1961). Research techniques in use at the G.R.I. , HurleyBull. Comm. Bur. Past. Fid Crops, no. 45.Google Scholar
Lampkin, G. H. & Parkin, S. I. J. (1955). Calves reared at grass. Agriculture, Lond. 62 (6), 255–7.Google Scholar
Preston, T. R. (1957). Artificial rearing of calves at pasture. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 12 (3), 178–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, J. H. B., Shillam, K. W. G. & Palmer, J. (1955). The outdoor rearing of calves on grass with special reference to growth rate and grazing behaviour. J. Dairy Res. 22, 251–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayler, J. C. (1959). A relationship between weight of internal fat, ‘fill’ and the herbage intake of grazing cattle. Nature Lond. 184, 2021–2.Google Scholar
Tayler, J. C. (1966). The appetite and live-weight gain of calves fed ad libitum on both grass and cold or warm milk. Orassld Res. Inst. Tech. Rep. No. 3.Google Scholar
Tayler, J. C. & Lonsdale, C. R. (1969). The artificial rearing of calves and their growth on grass diets. I. The effect of type and temperature of reconstituted milk given ad libitum. J. agric. Sci., Camb. (in the Press.)Google Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. & Terry, R. A. (1963). A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. J. Br. Orassld Soc. 18, 104–11.Google Scholar
Wardrop, I. D. (1966). The effects of the plane of nutrition in early post-natal life on the subsequent growth and development of cattle. Aust. J. agric. Res. 17, 315–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, P. N. & Osbourn, D. F. (1960). Compensatory growth after undernutrition in mammals and birds. Biol. Rev. 35, 324–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed