Effect of Different Rearing during the Milk-Feeding Period on Growth of Dairy Calves

Jan Broucek, Michal Uhrincat, Peter Kisac and Anton Hanus
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Jan Broucek: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production Nitra, Hlohovecka 2, 951 41 Luzianky, Slovakia
Michal Uhrincat: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production Nitra, Hlohovecka 2, 951 41 Luzianky, Slovakia
Peter Kisac: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production Nitra, Hlohovecka 2, 951 41 Luzianky, Slovakia
Anton Hanus: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production Nitra, Hlohovecka 2, 951 41 Luzianky, Slovakia

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The objective was to determine the impact of calves’ rearing, gender, and the sire lineage on the growth and health. One hundred-and-five Holstein calves were assigned to one of three treatments: single suckling (SS), multiple suckling (MS), and artificially rearing in hutches (H). All calves received a comparable amount of milk/milk replacer (MR) across treatments. All calves were weaned at the 84th day. After weaning, all calves were separated by sex in age-balanced groups. At weaning, the highest body weight was in MS and the lowest in H (SS 94.97 kg, MS 109.85 kg, H 80.80 kg, p < 0.001). The average gains from the birth to weaning were 0.67 kg (SS), 0.81 kg (MS), 0.48 kg (H), ( p < 0.001). A difference ( p < 0.01) was found for the period from birth to 180th day of life (SS 0.75 kg, MS 0.82 kg, H 0.67 kg). We did not notice a gender differences ( p > 0.05). The Sire 1 progeny showed a lower body weight at 180 days ( p < 0.01) and 360 days ( p < 0.05). The results indicate that the method used to rear calves and sire lines had a significant impact on their later performance.

Keywords: calves; feeding; housing; weaning; animal welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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